Contrary to popular belief, those who collect coins or deals with coins are not exactly rich. They have an interesting hobby and dont necessarily want to pay a large amount of money for coins. Coin dealers strike a balance between satisfying their customers and making a profit.

The coins condition and state of preservation is of utmost importance to both coin dealers and collectors. The collectors prefer coins in mint condition rather than worn- out. The dealers, on the other hand, have to make sure that the coins they have in their possession match these standards.

It is obvious that an old coin cannot be expected to be in mint condition. Mint condition coins are very and command higher prices. Ancient Roman and Greek coins that exist in mint state often have reasonable prices.

Historically, the earliest coins were believed to have originated from either the Greek city-states of Asia Minor or the Lydian kingdom. The latter is not considered mutually exclusive from the Greek since the Lydian culture during that time was partly Hellenized. Lydia had been influenced by Greek styles both in art and architecture. So much so that a Greek agora was found in the capital city of Sardis.

Several indications point to Lydia as having a direct hand in the origin of coins in the Mediterranean world. First, the material of the earliest known coin can be traced back to the Lydians. Also, electrum issued from Cyzikus, Phokaea and Mytilene were composed of an artificially controlled ratio of gold to silver. Thus, the peculiarity of the use of electrum for the first coins might be attributed to its natural occurrence in Lydia.