2021-09-02 Thu

This is a coin of the fabulously rich Croesus – the King of the Lydian people. Reigned between 560 and 547 BC, Croesus was renowned for his great wealth. His royal capital was at the city of Sardis in what is now central Turkey that stood on the River Pactolus.

King Croesus is most famous not for being the last king of the Lydian empire, but for introducing the first pure silver and pure gold coins. Electrum (the gold and silver) was commonly found in the region which was used to mint coins. However, as the exact amounts of gold and silver in each coin varied, it was hard to determine an exact value for the coins.

King Croesus solved this problem by minting coins in pure gold and pure silver. In fabric and design, these were not unlike the earliest electrum coins. The forepart of a lion was shown facing the forepart of a bull on the obverse (front), while the reverse (back) consisted of simple punches. These are one of the earliest coins of the world.

Image Courtesy: medium.com