The Origin of Metallic Currency and Weight Standards

The work uses comparative and inductive methods to trace how societies developed metallic money and weight standards, surveying primitive currencies, the distribution and early discovery of gold, and prehistoric trade routes. It argues that weighing technology first served gold and that many ancient weight units correspond to values like cattle, explaining origins of early Greek coin types and units such as the obol, litra, mina, and talent. Regional systems from China and further Asia to Egypt, Babylon, Lydia, Greece, Italy, and Rome are examined, with critical reassessment of older metrological and linguistic theories.