In the West, however, gold has been more readily available and gold coins have been in popular use since their first appearance in what is now Turkey.
相反地，西方由於產金量大，因此以黃金為貨幣的情況相當普遍。人類最早鑄金幣的是小亞細亞的裡地亞人（即今之土耳其人），它的鑄幣制度後來流傳到鄰近各國。