In Sicily, the first bronze coins appeared sometime during the second half of the 5th century BC. The emergence of the new medium had different reasons. On the one hand, the non-Greek peoples of Sicily used bronze objects as means of payment, and the introduction of bronze money facilitated Greek trade with these peoples. On the other hand, bronze coins were an easy way to provide denominations of low value, since urban economics in Sicily met an increasing need for small coins. Silver was impractical for this purpose, because small denominations from valuable silver required tiny coins, which too easily got lost.