YBC1317 The invention of coinage is commonly attributed to Kings Gyges and Andrys of Lydia around 630 BC; but the Babylonian economy complete with a sophisticated credit system flourished long before the invention of coinage. Payments were made in weights of silver and volumes of barley. Although there is considerable debate, it is probable that silver arm bands which could be sectioned were used as a means of payment long before the introduction of coinage. Part of the translation here is "Let him give my messenger 1/3 (mina) silver ring(s) (armbands?)".