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While gold gained increased importance in places, particularly as international trade developed more formally in the 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE across the Mediterranean and Central Asia, from there the worth of gold did stall for a period. The next period of expansion likely occurred when coinage was developed. Sometime by the early 6th century BCE, silver and gold were now used to create coins. As coins were intended to symbolize value, it was important now that gold had to be pure. In fact, electrum, which combined silver and gold, was outlawed in Lydia, which has been considered the first state to use coinage. The use of coinage was initially in international trade. As empires developed across the Mediterranean in the mid to late 1st millennium BCE, that now connected the Mediterranean basin with Central Asia and India, coinage became more important for trade. The rise of the Achaemenid and particularly Greek-based empires in Bactria and Seleucia helped spread coinage to many regions. Gold now became the key material that was used for the most valued exchanges across much of the Old World. Expanding Greek colonies in Europe, increased trade across Central Asia, which became the Silk Road, and seaborne trade via India and the Arabian Sea became some of the most important trade routes in the Roman and late Classical period.<ref>For more on the role of gold coinage in international trade, see: Harris, Edward Monroe, David Martin Lewis, and Mark Woolmer, eds. 2015. <i>The Ancient Greek Economy: Markets, Households and City-States.</i> New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref>
In effect, what emerged, as key international trade routes such as the Silk Road developed, was that gold became one of the key commodities that supported the value of trade items such as silk, metals, spices, and other substances traded. The Roman's, with their important trade role, spread the use of silver and gold coins to different areas of their empire in Europe(Figure 2). After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the minting of coins had halted in many regions, particularly northern Europe (Figure 2). However, the Byzantine Empire continued to mint gold coins and the <i>bezant</i> became a standard used by that Empire. The Byzantine Empire dominated Mediterranean trade and southern European trade in the early Medieval period, leading to the gold standard becoming paramountin those regions. Gold continued to be used along the Silk Road and related trade routes.<ref>For more on how gold continued to shape world trade in the early Medieval period, see: Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. 2011. <i>Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past.</i> 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, pg. 327. </ref>
In Europe, developing kingdoms, such as those developed by the Anglo-Saxons and Franks, began to use silver rather than gold. Silver, thus, became the main standard over gold in Europe. In the 16th century, Spain was motivated in its conquests of the New World in part by gold as it expanded its empire there and began to ship now large quantities of gold. In Europe, gold, once again, began to have greater importance in its role in the economy. It was only under the reign of Queen Anne in the early 18th century, however, and particularly after the Napoleonic Wars, that gold began to become important again in the play a central role it played in the economyincreased international trade. The British specie began to be the standard that was used in the 18th and 19th centuries, where laws in the early 19th century helped to solidify its role. As Britain's trade empire increased, along with its trade influence, the gold standard, once again, began to spread across the globe, similar to how it did during the Classical period.<ref>For more on the spice, see: Andrei, Liviu C. 2011. <i>Money and Market in the Economy of All Times: Another World History of Money and Pre-Money Based Economies.</i> London and New York.</ref>
Major disruptions occurred in World War I, when the British specie became in short supply and there was increased distruption to international trade during the conflict. The gold coin standard was, thus, changed to gold bullion after the war in Britain. Fluctuations and disruptions occurred due to the Great Depression and World War II; however, gold continues to play a key role in major Western and other economies. It was only by During the 1970s and later, that some major economies began to shift away from a gold standard.<ref>For more on the shifts away from the gold standard, see: Bayoumi, Tamim A., Barry Julian Eichengreen, and Mark P. Taylor, eds. 1996. <i>Modern Perspectives on the Gold Standard.</i> Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref>
[[File:Nerva Aureus Concordia.png|thumbnail|Figure 2. Gold coin from the 1st century CE from the Roman Empire.]]
