Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II Metallurgy

Besides the Land of Promise location matching scriptural clues such as winds and currents moving Nephi’s ship that was “driven forth before the wind,” the temperature and climate needed to grow seeds from Jerusalem exceedingly and provide an abundant climate, locating ore deposits in abundance and contain gold, silver and copper in a single unit, finding two unknown animals that were as “useful to man” as the elephant, two unknown grains on a par with corn, wheat and barley, and natural herbs to cure deadly fever, roads, buildings, resorts, area of many waters, volcanoes and earthquakes, fortified walls, slings used as weapons, and coins, there are other clues in the scriptural record that also needs to be found in the Land of Promise.

One of these would be the numerous metallurgical comments made in the scriptural record, from the Jaredites “they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth; wherefore they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work” (Ether 10:23) to Nephi taught his people “to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores (2 Nephi 5:15) to Mosiah “and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind” (Mosiah 4:19) and to Helaman “they became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites; and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in the land north” (Helaman 6:9) and to the disciple Nephi “and their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things” (3 Nephi 6:2).

Obviously, the smelting of ore, the working of precious metals, the use of iron, steel and other metals described suggest an advanced knowledge of such workings. And just as obviously, we should find in the area of the Land of Promise a rich heritage in metallurgy.

It should be noted, however, that metallurgy did not exist in Mesoamerica during B.C. times. In fact, the American Anthropologist states that “Metallurgy first appeared in Mesoamerica at about A.D. 800, introduced via a maritime route from Central and South America into West Mexico. During the initial period of the establishment of the technology (approximately A.D. 800 to between A.D. 1200 and 1300) technical links were closest with the metallurgies of Ecuador, Colombia, and lower Central America. During the second period of West Mexican metallurgy (A.D. 1200–1300 to the Spanish invasion) new elements from these same regional metallurgies were introduced, in addition to technical components from the metallurgy of southern Peru. Although the roots of West Mexican metallurgy lay in the metallurgies to the south, the elements that had been introduced from those areas were reinterpreted and transformed, resulting in the development of a technically original, highly inventive regional technology in West Mexico.”

As stated, metallurgy was very extensive in the area of Peru and Ecuador, which made up the bulk of the Land of Promise, from the Land of Nephi to the Land Northward. According to the MIT Anthropology-Archaeology Section and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, “the rich development of metallurgical technology that arose and was sustained in the New World prior to the Spanish invasion in the 16th century took place in the Andean zone of western South America in the area which is today, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia. One of those areas, Cerro de Pasco in the Peruvian Andes, has a record of evolving extractive metallurgy covering at least 1400 years before the Inca, as shown by lake sediment. Even today, this area is an important mining center, and at one time one of the richest silver producing areas—along with lead, zinc, and copper. In fact, the northern Andes is considered a unique gold-rich area that has been exploited long before Columbus reached the Western World.

The Journal of Field Archaeology lists scores of ancient including mines, ore-processing areas, and smelting installations indicating a level of sophistication of Andean metallurgy not previously recognized by most archaeologists. Many scholars have claimed that the Moche metalwork, especially that found in the north Peruvian site of Loma Negra, was the finest produced by Per-Columbian smiths of the central Andes in terms of its technological sophistication, its exquisite craftsmanship and its beauty. In addition, copper smelting had a lengthy history in the Atacama region of northern Chile prior to the Spanish Conquest, specifically that of the Ramaditas site in the Guatacondo Valley in northern Chile date to the first centuries B.C.

Some of the open pit mines are so huge that the gigantic ore truck (left) not only dwarfs the man in blue in the lower right, but is itself dwarfed inside the open pit mine (right) where the red arrow points to this same ore truck

Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II Coins & Bartering

Many uninformed people today believe that bartering was the only real method of interchange anciently, that there were no need for money or “coins,” and that coins themselves as money did not occur until about 500 years ago, around the time of the Spanish conquistadors.

The simple fact is, that coins as money and having value in and of themselves, have existed for well over two thousand years. Mesoamerican and Great Lakes Theorists do not like to hear this and do all they can to convince others of their theories by showing that coins did not exist as such anciently, and that none should be found in their area of the Land of Promise.

However, the simple fact is, that coins AND bartering have existed for more than two thousand years, and often side-by-side. That is, bartering was used among local groups of a village or small area, but when trading with outside groups, other countries, other peoples, only gold and silver were acceptable means of exchange. Therefore, coins in the form of gold or silver were used ever since man traded with other areas, other peoples, and other countries. Yet, bartering was also necessary since gold and silver were very scarce in most areas, and coins were hard to come by for most people.

Even as late as the 17th century, people in the eastern United States, where gold and silver was not to be found, the minting of coins was rare for the precious metals needed were scarce and not to be found in the ground.

In fact, when the early settlements in America traded with England, they had to use silver or gold for they could not barter for trade. And since gold and silver were non-existent in eastern America, they resorted to using Spanish gold, called real dea ocho, or eight real coin (Eight Reals), or more loosely, pieces of eight, because the coin could be easily divided into eight parts—these were minted in the New World mints of Mexico City, Potosi, Bolivia, and Lima, Peru. These coins were brought out of Mexico, across the wilderness, mountains and through unfriendly lands to get to the eastern seaboard, making their value quite costly.

At that time, the Spanish gold, referred to as dollars by the Americans, a word taken from the Dutch daalder, a coin made of silver from the famous Joachimsthaler (Joachim Valley) silver mines. Coins made from this silver were known to be very pure and therefore soon became extremely popular as an export currency throughout Europe.

By the 17th century, Holland had become a world trade power with its own “thaler,” a silver coin with a lion on it, which they called the leeuwendaalder, changing the “thaler” into “daalder.” When the Dutch colonized the island of Manhattan and founded the New Netherland Colony, they called the town New Amsterdam (now New York). They brought their daalder with them, which became the most popular trading currency on the island.

Not only did the Dutch introduce daalder (dollar) into the English lexicon, but also gave us cookie, coleslaw, show, pump, skate, trigger and Yankee, among many others.

At this time, as had been happening in other areas of the world for centuries, locals bartered for services, since coins were very scarce. It was not that coins on a monetary system did not exist, only that they were scarce, as they always were in new colonies, largely rural areas, and where gold and silver were even more scarce from which coins could be made.

As mentioned above, the Great Lakes, New England, eastern U.S. did not have deposits of gold and silver and had to import or trade for such precious metals. So coins were scarce and difficult to obtain, so the earlier colonists bartered with products and services. But this should not be confused then, or in much earlier times, with the system of bartering in existence because there was no monetary system.

As has been pointed out in earlier posts, coins of value were struck and minted since B.C times, and though their value was dependent upon the precious metal contained in the coin, the same held true in the United States, and did until the 1971 “Nixon Shock,” when U.S. currency was no longer backed up by gold and silver. Between 1965 and 1981, the US. Dollar lost two thirds of its value, and from the original 1792, the U.S. dollar was worth a full dollar, and stayed pretty close to that value through 1900, when it was worth .96¢, but today, it is worth a miserable .03¢.

It is not that coins lost value because they became worn or chipped, etc., (which was true in some exchanges), but that the valuing of coins was consistently changed, even in the B.C. time of the Roman denarius, which was devalued consistently because of the amount of gold (grains) used in its manufacturer from time to time--a problem that beset coinage from earliest times and still exists, especially in third-world countries, today.

Roman Denarius coins. Left: minted in 211 B.C., Right: minted in 207 B.C. The coin on the right was found in England, and is the oldest Roman coin uncovered there

The point is, no amount of disingenuous reasoning can change the fact that metallurgy was not found until after the time of Christ in the Mesoamerican area, and not at all beyond copper usage in the Great Lakes area until far later, and no ancient pre-Columbian coins have been found in either location. In Peru, however, metallurgy dates to around 2000 B.C., and pre-Columbian coins have been found in the ground there.

Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II More Nephite Gold & Coins

As has been pointed out in this series on coins, in ancient times, pieces of gold and silver were widely used in trade. However without standardized coinage, the weight and purity of the metal had to be tested every time it changed hands. By 650 BC, inhabitants on the Greek island of Lydia were using bean-shaped lumps of electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver, stamped with official symbols indicating weight and purity.

By 550 BC, the practice of striking coins was established in all the important trading cities throughout the known world; however, no coins, or even signs of metallurgy, has ever been found in Mesoamerica before the Christian era. On the other hand, gold coins have been found in the Andean area dating into B.C. times. The problem is in identifying what is found against what is believed.

First of all, when it comes to ancient coins, we are used to seeing ancient Greek and Roman coins that invariably had the head of an emperor, leader, hero, god or animal on them..

However, ancient coins, not so well known, also had other designs—some complex, some very simple and seldom make the color pages of coin brochures, let alone be in the public conscience—yet they were ancient coins issued by countries or states.

In addition, many ancient coins outside of the Greek and Roman areas of influence, were mere designs some without apparent meaning or symbolism. These are sometimes the hardest to identify, frequently thought of as ornaments hung around the neck, fastened to cloaks, or symbols of private families, etc. However, they were issued coins of an ancient era.

The first three coins from the left are ancient coins traded on the open market today, some dating to very ancient times. In fact, the coin in the middle was an electrum (gold and silver ore) coin struck in Ionia about the time Lehi left Jerusalem. The two coins on the right of very similar simplicity and without the typical Greek or Roman type heads or writing, were found in pre-Columbian Peru, and date to ancient metallurgic times.

Most very early coinage was stamped or struck on electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amount of copper. It is interesting that in the area of the Andes, gold, silver and copper occur naturally in single ore deposits. It is also interesting that when Nephi wrote of the ore he found in the Land of Promise, he stated that “We did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper” (1 Nephi 18:25). The use of the word both, followed by three items typifies the ore compoun was made up of gold and silver as precious metals, or a single type of item, and copper as a non-precious metal, or a second item. Thus, both (gold and silver) and (copper) ore found with a single ore—what today is known as electrum--and abundantly found in the Andean area of South America, but not at all in Guatemala according to the USGS.

This electrum was called “gold” or “white gold” by the ancient Greeks, as opposed to “refined gold.” Anciently, electrum was used in the Old Kingdom Egypt as an exterior coating to the pyramidions (capstone) atop the ancient pyramids and obelisks, for the making of drinking vessels, and coins.

However, much later in Peru, by the time of the Inca, natural electrum in ore was the property of the Emperor, and refined into the gold that was cast in sheets for wall decoration and murals, and ornamental items, such as large plates, animal molds, table service and finely crafted decorations of all kinds. Since the Emperor held all things as his own, and the people were taken care of by The Inca, it is doubtful any coins were necessary or used for any purpose.

The point to all of this, is that while gold and silver coins were introduced by Mormon in the 11th chapter of Alma, and that gold, silver and copper were abundant in the Andean area, and that ancient coins were found there, it is just another example of matching the Land of Promise location to all points mentioned in the scriptural record.

Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II Nephite Gold & Coins

In the last several posts, while discussing the additional clues in the scriptural record that should accompany any location for the Land of Promise, we have discussed the use of gold and silver coinage of the Nephites, and the over-abundance of gold, silver and copper in the both the Land of Promise and the Andean area of South America. In fact the existence of gold, silver, copper and other precious metals in the Andean area of South America, especially northern Chile and Peru, is remarkable in its quantity and availability.

Peru alone contains vast quantities of gold, silver, copper iron ore, mercury, vanadium, zinc, and lead, and is among the largest producers of silver, copper, zinc, and lead in the world. The Atacama Desert region in the south holds huge deposits of nitrate, as well as gold, silver and copper.

Peru's mining industry contributes significantly to the country's economy and is a major producer of gold—the largest in Latin America, and the 5th largest gold-producing country in the world, and still growing. Along with gold, Peruvian mines include silver, tin, copper, lead and zinc. Peru's mineral production is based on the growth of its gold sector, and is also the world’s most prolific source of mineral specimens, producing world-class minerals with pyrite specimen production, in both quantity and quality, exceeding any other source in the world. Nearly every mineral dealer and every major mineral museum in the world has at least some superb Peruvian specimens.

The “Pierina,” an open pit gold mine in central Peru, has produced 3.6 million ounces of gold in the first ten years of operation, while the “Yanacocha” in northern Peru has produced over $7 billion in gold. The “Antamina” copper mine deposit, including zinc, silver, lead, molybdenum and bismuth mineralization, is considered the largest undeveloped copper/zinc ore body in the world, and “Cerro de Pasco,” one of the highest cities in the world, and is noted for its silver mines, becoming one of the world's richest silver producing areas after silver was discovered there in the early 1600s. When silver deposits declined late in the 19th century, the exploitation of other metals, chiefly copper, again made Cerro de Pasco Peru's leading mining center. Its products include bismuth, zinc, lead, and gold. And from the nearby “Minasraga” mines comes about 80% of the world's supply of rare vanadium, which is used mainly to produce certain steel alloys.

These and many other mining operations in Peru suggests that when Nephi said, twenty years after reaching the Land of Promise, “And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper,” he knew what he was talking about. And in addition, we should find a very high degree of skill in the ancient area occupied by the Nephites, for the Lord taught Nephi who, in turn, taught his people how to work the metals (1 Nephi 18:3; 2 Nephi 5:15).

As many archaeologists have recorded: “As an example of almost incredible skill we may mention that copper objects were sometimes welded in ancient Peru...another remarkable skill was exhibited by the silversmiths and goldsmiths who could beat out of a solid block of metal a beaker some eight inches deep and three inches in diameter without breaking it.”

The whole art of cire-perdue casting (literally “lost wax”) was well understood, and the most complex forms were cast by this technique in both gold and bronze, and the quality of preciousness attributed to these metals was something quite different in Peru from what is in the civilized world of today.

Obviously, the quantity of metal was quite considerable, and some archaeologists think that the long-continued use of charcoal for smelting by this method accounted for the greater part of the deforestation of the Andes. In addition, it is well understood that metallurgy was well developed more than a thousand years before the time of the Incas, and the rate of production was high from the beginning, and that the present evidence shows that ancient "gold metallurgy originated in the northern Andes of Peru, Ecuador, and even Colombia

Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II Nephite Gold & Coins

In the last three posts we covered the fact that the Nephite monetary system as described in the 11th chapter of Alma, was, indeed, made up of gold and silver coins, rather than simply measures of grain as Mesoamerican Theorists have claimed.

It should also be noted, that in order to strike or mint coins of gold and silver, the Nephite economy had to have had ample gold and silver to back up such a coinage and for its use in striking and minting coins.

The scriptural record tells us that the Land of Promise had ample ore, and that they minted precious metals. In the very beginning, Through the first 500 years, Nephi, Jacob, Jarom and Alma mention such activity.

"And we did find upon the promised land...all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper." (1 Nephi 18:25) "And I did teach my people to work in all manner of...precious ores which were in great abundance." (2 Nephi 5:15) "...many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a land of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentiful." (Jacob 2:12) "...became exceeding rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things...and in fine workmanship in wood, in building, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind." (Jarom 1:8) "They began to be exceeding rich, having abundance of all things...of gold, and of silver, and of precious things" (Alma 1:29).

Obviously, the Land of Promise had enormous stores of gold, silver and copper—thus, today, we should show ample evidence of this in any area claimed to be the Land of Promise. And this is quite evident in the Andean area of Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Archaeology evidence shows that such precious ores were first used in the Northern Andes in B.C. times and spread outward from there, and eventually went northward into Central America, somewhere after the time of Christ. The first American people to experiment extensively with metal and develop a distinctive style of working with it lived around a site called Chavin de Huantar in Peru (near present-day Huanuco). As evidence of this, the 16th Century Peruvian Inca Garcilasso de la Vega, whose mother was an Inca Princess and father a Spanish Captain, wrote regarding this:

“In many of the palaces and temples, they used molten lead, silver, and gold instead of mortar. They plated the temples of the Sun and royal palaces with gold, and put in them many figures of men and women; of birds of the air and water; of wild animals, such as tigers, bears, lions, foxes, dogs, cats, deer, huanacus, and vicunas, and of domestic llamas, all of gold and silver, worked in imitation of nature. They did not have tapestry for the walls of the king's palace because they were covered with gold and silver. They also had a vast store of cloaks and belts interwoven with gold wire.”

The early Spaniards who traveled around the Andes wrote of magnificent stores and uses of gold, silver and copper. They saw “treasures of gold and emeralds were discovered in Ecuador and their craftsmen became exceedingly skilled in fashioning fine ornaments of gold. Their chieftans were decked magnificently with collars, breastplates and ornaments of gold.”

“There was an abundance of gold, copper and silver in the mountains accessible even to primitive miners with stone tools, and gold was easily washed out from the streambeds.” And again, “The Andean mountains in Pizarro's time had a notable tradition of gold working and many spectacular gold objects have been found in tombs throughout the area.”

Archaeologists have found that the Peruvians practiced a more advanced technology than those of Mesoamerica in mastery of gold, silver, copper, and alloy metallurgy, with pre-Inca smiths in Peru working gold, silver, and copper, and demonstrating a very fine workmanship.

As one archaeologist has stated: “The level of metallurgy achieved in Peru did not have a long stage of development. Where it took the Sumerians, Canaanites, Egyptians and Semites nearly 4000 years to attain this level of skilled artisan, there is nothing under the surface of the ground in ancient Peru to indicate there was any long age of development and progress leading up to the age of the skilled artisans, which the Peruvians attained.”

This actually frustrates archaeologists who like to find development stages of ancient civilizations, but should buoy the spirits of those who understand that the ancient inhabitants of this land came from Jerusalem as Nephi stated. As a result, the Nephites showed up in South America with a knowledge of metallurgy and working in precious metals already achieved.

The beginning of such metallurgical work in Peru is dated by archaeologists between 900 and 200 B.C., while Metallurgy in Mesoamerica is found to have begun around the Time of Christ, and some archaeologists claim as late as 200 A.D. to 800 A.D.

Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II Third of Nephite Coins

In the last two posts we covered the fact that the Nephite monetary system as described in the 11th chapter of Alma, was, indeed, made up of gold and silver coins, and that contrary to a FARMS article on the subject, coins have been used for exchange over weights since late B.C. times.

In addition, there are other errors in the FARMS article such as: “The fact that there were no coins in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica fits quite nicely with the Book of Mormon, which mentions weights rather than coins as money."

This error in understanding Mormon’s writing comes from the two verses within his explanation of the value of the gold and silver coins. “A senum of silver was equal to a senine of gold, and either for a measure of barley, and also for a measure of every kind of grain” (Alma 11:7), and “A shiblon is half of a senum; therefore, a shiblon for half a measure of barley” (Alma 11:15).

First of all, Alma is explaining the role of the judges leading up to the occurrence of the judge Zeezrom trying to bribe Amulek before the people in the public square to deny the existence of God. Second, Alma describes how the judges were paid: “And the judge received for his wages according to his time -- a senine of gold for a day, or a senum of silver, which is equal to a senine of gold; and this is according to the law which was given” (Alma 11:3).

At this pint, Mormon inserts the value of the Nephite monetary system so the reader can appreciate the value of Zeezrom’s bribe. And in so doing, he also shows the value in the purchasing power of the coins by stating: “a senum of silver was equal to a senine of gold,” and either of these coins could be used to buy “either a measure of barley,” or “a measure of every kind of grain.” He also inserted the comment, “A shiblon is half of a senum; therefore a shiblon for half a measure of barely.” That is, a shiblon coin could purchase half a measure of barley” which is quite clear when we read the word “for” in this statement—“a shiblon FOR half a measure of barley”—which is like saying “three dollars for a loaf of bread,” which, of course, we would understand because we talk that way today.

Thus Mormon explains for our benefit that a “shiblum” is worth half the value of a “senine” or a “senum,” and therefore, has half their purchasing power. A senine or senum could purchase a full measure of barley, and a shiblum only half a measure.

One might want to consider if he were writing a record he knew would not be read for 1500 years, how would he explain things he knew would be very different in the future? What is the value of a dollar, a twenty, or a hundred? Somewhere in the explanation, one must equate the value of the money (coin) to the value of a product that would still be a common purchase 1500 years in the future. Mormon chose to equate the value for the purchase of grain—a commodity that would always be necessary for the sustenance of people. Thus, he chose barley as the grain, and added “every kind of grain,” which suggests that all grains had the same purchasing value to the Nephites.

According to biblical scholars, a “measure” at the time of Christ was equivalent to about a dry quart in our measurement today, or about 1.7 pounds. If this was the same weight the Nephites used, and there is no indication it was, since they did not use the same values as the Jews, but by way of example, if this were the case, the bribe Zeezrom offered Amulek was equivalent to about 72 pounds of grain.

So when Zeezrom said, “Behold, here are six onties of silver, and all these will I give thee if thou wilt deny the existence of a Supreme Being” (Alma 11:22). The key word in this sentence for understanding is the word “here.” So Zeezrom is telling Amulek ”HERE are the coins, and I will give them to you if you deny God.” As mentioned in the last post, since Zeezrom was playing to the crowd, there would be little effect if the onties were not present—and, obviously, on his person.

In addition, the words "all these" in the statement: "..and all these will I give thee if thou wilt deny the existence of a Supreme Being" obviously suggests something more than one, which Zeezrom said were "six onties of silver." Certainly if he meant a measure of barley, he would have said, "..this will I give thee" but he said "all these" which is in keeping with the fact he held out six coins.

Thus, it seems most unlikely that Zeezrom had 72 pounds of barley or grain present to back up his bribe. Thus, it cannot be said that the Nephites trafficked in “weights rather than coins as money” as claimed by FARMS and other Mesoamerican Theorists.

Additional Clues to the Land of Promise Location-Part II Second of Nephite Coins

In the last post we covered the fact that the Nephite monetary system as described in the 11th chapter of Alma, was, indeed, made up of gold and silver coins.

However, what is amazing is the resistance Mesoamerican Theorists have to this idea, which seems pretty clear. As one website quoting a FARMS statement has written: “What is most interesting is "Only in the past half a millennium have coins universally come to replace weight as the standard medium of exchange. Even after the invention of coinage in Lydia in the seventh century B.C., most economic transactions continued to be based on weight, not on the coins themselves. Since coins were frequently clipped, shaved, or worn, stamping coins was used to establish the purity of the metal being weighed, but was not necessarily accepted as a guarantee of the weight of the coin itself. The fact that there were no coins in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica fits quite nicely with the Book of Mormon, which mentions weights rather than coins as money—a situation which would have been counter-intuitive for Joseph Smith in the early nineteenth century."

There are a few errors in the above, perhaps the most important one regarding coins only becoming a system of exchange over weights in the last 500 years (1500 A.D.) This is an outright fabrication since the Roman Empire used coins, not weights, as their medium of exchange in all things, including the payment of their famed Legions throughout their Empire. Legionairs in the field were paid in coin. In fact, from the time of Gaius Marius onwards (about 105 B.C.), legionaries received 225 denarii a year, which was equal to 900 Sestertii, a rate that remained unchanged until Domitian, who increased it to 300 denarii. A denarius was a small silver coin first struck in 269 B.C. before the Punic wars, with a weight of 6.8 grams (1/48th of a roman pound). When a Legionary soldier retired, he was offered a sizeable sum of money (3000 denarii) or a plot of good farmland. This retirement payment was later increased to 5000 denarii.

These are coins of the B.C. era. There are even mite coins extant from the time of Christ.

Around 211 B.C. Rome overhauled their monetary system and not only minted the Denarii at a reduced rate of 4.5 grams they also minted the victoriatus. This new denarius was the most common coin production for circulation until it was replaced by the antoninianus. The word denarius comes from the Latin word deni, which means “containing ten,” since it was worth 10 assarius (as or asses), which was a bronze and later copper coin.

Before the Romans, the Greeks began minting coins in 600 B.C., having gotten the idea from the Lydians in Turkey, who had been minting coins since the fall of the Assyrian Empire. The Greek coins were made of silver, by taking a small lump of silver and putting it on an iron mold, and then striking it with a hammer that had another kind of mold in it. In this way they could squash a picture into both sides at the same time.

While it may be true that coins were not well accepted in the first century or two of their first being struck or minted, over time, and certainly by the end of the Greek period and the beginning of the Roman period, coins had become the standard exchange and payment of all services, products, and labor within the Roman Empire, which at the time covered most of the known world. Thus, since at least 225 B.C., Roman coins were used for payment, and especially within the Legions, paid in far off lands where Roman coins became more valuable that any other coinage or monetary system.

In fact, much like Mormon wrote in Alma chapter 11 in describing the different values, the Roman system began with the gold aureus. That is, 1 gold aureus = 2 gold quinarii = 25 silver denarii = 50 silver quinarii = 100 bronze sestertii = 200 bronze dupondii = 400 copper as = 800 copper semisses = 1600 copper quadrans.

In the Bible, the word penny was a silver coin of value and equivalent to the pay of a Roman soldier in the time of Christ, and the coin the Lord referred to as the “tribute money” (Matt 22:19; Mark 12:15). Judas sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver, and the widow’s mite (probably the lepton and prutah coins minted by the Jewish King Alexander Jannaeus in 100 B.C.) Money was cast into the treasury in Christ’s time, as described in the Widow’s Mite.

It is only a lack of historical knowledge that would allow someone to say in error that coins were not used prior to around 1500 A.D. as a standard monetary system. It should also be understood, that in the farmlands and far rural areas of a country, the concept of barter (making payment with other than money) was practiced, as it was even in the U.S. in the colonial period since money was extremely difficult to come by. But in the advanced areas, major cities, of nations dating into B.C. times, coins were the standard exchange.

To this we might add that the Nephites were an advanced people, who lived in cities, and who developed a harmonious and successful culture where prices and content could be consistent. To think they would not have or know of the use of coins is foolhardy and shows a strong lack of knowledge of early cultures and the use of coins for monetary exchange.