12.
The origin of coins
According (0)…………. the Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 BC), the Lydian people were the first to use metallic coins. In fact, these earliest coins were made out (9)…………………electrum, a naturally-occurring mixture of gold and silver. The coins were first produced in the seventh century BC with a design on (10)…………………side only; the other was marked with simple punches. Each coin was assigned a value in units Some coins were inscribed with names in Lydian script, but it is unclear (11)……………..these are names of kings or just of rich men who produced the coins. (12)………………. of the irregular size and shape of the coins, it must (13)…………………been difficult to tell one (14)………………….. another, especially some of the smaller ones. Thus, many costs were expressed (15)…………………. terms of the total weight of the coins required and transactions were completed by weighing the coins used together, (16) than counting individual ones.