What makes silver more valuable to us than other minerals?↵
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Silver is valued for its beauty, rarity, and durability, making it both useful and precious.↵
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Historically, its monetary value has been recognized for thousands of years.↵
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The 'Lydian Lion,' minted in modern-day Turkey around 2,700 years ago, is thought to be the oldest coin, made from an alloy of gold and silver.↵
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The Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations imported silver from ancient Armenia, boosting trade in the Mediterranean.↵
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After these civilizations declined, classical Greece rose, and the silver mines of Laurium near Athens financed their naval fleet.↵
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The Romans later adopted silver as a main currency.↵
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Silver connected East and West through trade, especially in the Middle Ages when Europeans traded silver for Chinese goods like gunpowder, tea, ceramics, and silk.↵
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The Spanish discovered silver mines in Mexico and Peru, trading South American silver for Chinese silk.↵
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This trade facilitated the exchange of goods and ideas, playing a role in advancing collective learning and global civilization.