History·25 February 2026·4 min read
The gold rings of ancient Egypt
Before coins, the Egyptians used gold and silver rings, weighed at every exchange.
Ancient Egypt didn't use coins for thousands of years, but it used weighed gold and silver — as rings, hoops and pieces. Value was weight, checked with scales at every transaction.
The wealth of a civilization
Egyptian gold, gleaming in the pharaohs' tombs, was an economic tool too, not just ornament. The scales used to weigh gold even became the symbol of justice in Egyptian mythology.
