Talk:Electrum

message: There was an omission in the article regarding Ancient Egyptian uses of Electrum. The Ancient Egyptians also used Electrum to make the Pharaoh's war helmets. Also, Electrum was highly prized in Egypt because silver was scarce, however it never became more popular than Gold, which was the holy metal.Herb143 (talk) 01:01, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Egyptian Usage 

message: "Lost book?" I'm guessing this refers to the "Lost Book of Enki," which is a work of fiction by Zecharia Sitchin. Sitchin wrote it as a "what if" book, where he took his theories and wrote them out as a fictional novel. This isn't even a debate, he specifically wrote it as fiction. It's not a Sumerian text.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.241.0.178 (talk) 07:21, 25 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sumerian texts 

message: The article had been changed to state:
* Electrum is believed to have been first used in coins circa 700 BC in Lydia under the reign of Alyattes II.
However, our own page on Alyattes states:
* Alyattes II, king of Lydia (619-560 BC)
Obviously, there is an error here.
With all the mirroring of Wikipedia, it's somewhat difficult to find a reliable source online, however keeping that in mind: Encarta: Coins and Coin Collecting quotes the origins as being between 620BC and 600BC.
I'm switching it back to "circa 600 BC"
(Done by User MinstrelOfC - note that I am not logged in due to technical issues)
66.82.9.53 21:33, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: First Used

message: I've noticed that the entire "History" section deals only with Electrum as it was used in coinage. 
It might be an idea to split the article into "Electrum" and "Electrum Coinage", maybe add a note at the top that this article deals only with naturally occuring Electrum.
Anyone agree?
PS: I found an interesting article that could be useful to someone making a full "Electrum Coinage" page - Google HTML-ized version of a PDF entitled: "The Electrum Coinage of Samos in the Light of a Recent Hoard"
(Done by User MinstrelOfC - note that I am not logged in due to technical issues)
66.82.9.53 22:03, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Does everything here belong in Electrum?

message: The above information about the dating of Lydian electrum coinage, that it was initiated under Gyges c. 680-645 BC, is a century old, and outdated. Specifically, this dating was popularized by Barclay Head, author of among other notable books Historia Numorum, published in its final edition in 1911. It is correct that modern archeologists prefer the c. 600 BC dating for these coins because the archeological evidence argues for it. Numismatists also prefer this dating because the numismatic evidence argues for it as well.
Reidgold 02:16, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Coin dating

message: The name "Alyattes II" is in all likelihood incorrect. Wikipedia uses "Alyattes II," based on the 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, as does John Lempriere's 1788 Classical Dictionary (Biblioteca Classica). These references rely heavily on ancient epigraphs, which are lists of kings on clay tablets and other media. Epigraphic lists, however, are known by historians today to be generally unreliable as historical documents. For one thing, they sometimes combine kings from different regions. Livio C. Stecchini contended, for instance, that Gyges was the first Lydian king and those before him, including the earlier Alyattes, were kings of nearby Maionia, a Phrygia dependency. What's more, epigraphic lists are often legendary rather than annalistic, including as they do, for instance, the mythic hero Herakles as a city's founder, so another possibility is that "Alyattes I" was a legendary rather than a historical figure.
The ancient historians Herodotos and Strabo both refer to Kroisos' father as Alyattes and make no mention of an earlier King Alyattes of Lydia in their writings on Lydia. The same is true of modern historians, archeologists, and numismatists who have focused on Lydia, including George M.A. Hanfmann, Robert W. Wallace, Koray Konuk, and Andrew Ramage. Likewise, other newer sources such as recent editions of Oxford Classical Dictionary and Encyclopaedia Britannica don't use "Alyattes II" and make no mention of an earlier Lydian king named Alyattes.
Reidgold 02:03, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Alyattes' name

message: Insert formula here
In the player's handbook 2nd edition of AD&D on page 35 it clearly states;
20 silver pieces (s.p.) = 1 gold piece (g.p.)
2 electrium pieces (e.p.) = 1 g.p.
so the exact statement should read that 1 ep = 10 sp.
thank you,
Rachael S. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.254.189.12 (talk) 05:00, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Noted error of specific data. 

message: The article reads (my bold):
:::In Lydia, electrum was minted into 4.76-gram coins, each valued at 1/3 stater (meaning "standard"). Three of these coins (with a weight of about 14.1 grams) totaled one stater, about one month's pay for a soldier.
Well... this is inconsistent, since three times 4.76 is 14.28 (rounded 14.3) not 14.1, or if we trust the other number, one third of 14.1 is 4.7 not 4.76
So which number must we trust?
The 1 stater = 14.1 gram one or the 1/3 stater = 4.76 gram one?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.52.195.170 (talk) 20:07, 13 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Stater weight 

message: Coins of Gibraltar are the same size, value, and composition as British coins.  The two pound coin is a bimetal coin with a silver centre.  The coin is not an alloy of silver and gold, and so is not electrum. See 
 wiki article.  Gubernatoria (talk) 08:02, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Gibraltar two pound coin

message: Breadbelly (talk) 21:36, 1 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Electrum content 

message: This section is to discuss whether Electrum and Corinthian bronze should be merged--Robert Treat (talk) 19:45, 25 January 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Oppose, for the same reasons. The articles are about two evidently different metals. >MinorProphet (talk) 15:31, 9 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Oppose. Electrum is a gold/silver alloy. This is likely some copper alloy. 96.247.33.98 (talk) 15:03, 20 September 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merging in [[Corinthian brass]]? 

message: This article seem to miss the most important issue in my opinion. 
Why is it called electrum?
Please someone shed some light on this.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 171.7.99.211 (talk) 07:24, 17 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  How electrum got its name. 

message: Could somebody please, please explain the manufacture of the curved coin shown in photo captioned "Electrum coin of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus"? Even my expert local coin stores were unable to explain why they are curved, and not flat. Also, if someone is interested, I can post photos of my coin, which appears to be double-struck only on the convex side. I'll watch this talk page, but please drop me a line on mine, too, if you have info. Thanks! Leptus Froggi (talk) 14:09, 19 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Manufacture of curved Electrum coin 

message: Hi, I'm geologist and I consider that this information is a very misconception. I think this work is a more confiable source:
http://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publish_db/Bulletin/no32/no32000.html  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.83.5.207 (talk) 16:51, 18 February 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  a suggestion of a better source 

message: We note there is a bigger  subject on the horizon, that perhaps deserves its own page... https://www.google.com/search?q=electrum Jidanni (talk) 14:26, 14 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bitcoin wallet 

message: All i can find on here is that Olympic gold metals are made out of it  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:7480:95F0:49D7:C373:720C:44AC (talk) 14:58, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Any other modern uses? 

message: The article seems to say that the metal is the namesake for electricity, when all sources I've found indicate that amber is. 207.153.7.145 (talk) 03:28, 23 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  etymogy of electron/electricity 

message: "Electrum was used as early as the third millennium BC..."
The main image for Khopesh is a khopesh with electrum inlays from the EIGHTEENTH century BC, a whopping 1,500 years earlier.
Gold and silver have both been smelted since at least 3,000 BC, so I'm inclined to believe electrum isn't so new. Who wants to go to Munich to double-check? Ponggoleechee (talk) 06:12, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: The article text you quote says third , i.e. before 2000 BC. Later the article mentions the fifth dynasty of Egypt (c.2500 BC). None of this contradicts that a Khopesh from the 18th century BC would use electric inlays. Caeciliusinhorto (talk) 06:25, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Egg on my face. Ponggoleechee (talk) 21:36, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Electrum was used as early as the 18th century, not 3rd