Electrum

• Electrum is an Alloy of Gold and Silver that occurs naturally, sometimes containing small amounts of Platinum, Copper and other metals.
• Electrum is the Latinised word ‘Elektron’, from the Greek meaning Gold alloyed with Silver.

Description

• In the Ancient World, Electrum was known as ‘White Gold’.
• Ancient Egypt coated the Pyramidion at the top of their Pyramids with Electrum.
• Electrum was mentioned by the Ancient Egyptians and by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History.

In Coinage

• Around 600 BCE, the first metal coins minted in Lydia, Ancient Greece, were made of Electrum. But as their value varied from coin to coin, because of the random proportions of Gold and Silver, the Lydians changed to coins made of solid Silver.
• The Carthaginians during this period also minted coins of Electrum.

Orichalcum

• The Roman name for Brass was Orichalcum.
• In the Roman Coinage, Brass, which is an alloy of Copper and Zinc, was used to make the Sestertius and Dupondius.