Ancient Archaic Period - 561 BCE Lydia (Croesus or later) AR Half-Stater/Siglos NGC Choice XF★

The obverse presents Lion (left) confronting a Bull (right), both with outstretched forelegs. The reverse has bipartite incuse, side by side, and overlapping somewhat. They both have irregular interior surfaces. Original patina on this dramatically struck piece.

Figure of Croesus, Attic red-figure amphora, c. 500-490 BCE.

Many people are familiar with the expression "rich as Croesus." Legend tells us that Croesus acquired his extreme wealth from the sands of the Pactolus river, where he was king. Croesus lived in the 6th Century BCE and was king of Lydia from c. 560-547 BCE. The Kingdom of Lydia was located in western Asia Minor (the current-day nation of Turkey). The Pactolus river has another legend surrounding it. Allegedly it was the site where King Midas, of the golden touch, came to see the error of his great desire for gold and washed his hands clean of it (literally and symbolically) in the waters of the Pactolus. Croesus was the first to strike bimetallic coins. Croesus is known for funding the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. However, his fame reached a low point when he misinterpreted the Oracle at Delphi, assuming that Lydia would defeat the Persians in battle.

Lydian coins were produced at the mint in Sardis, the Lydian capital. Such coins carried a distinctive design that was representative of the city: the foreparts of a lion (left) and a bull (right). The coin was crafted by using a punch, as evidenced by the two incuse squares found on the reverse. Such a design was of critical importance, not just for its Assyrian symbolism, but also for purpose of identification. Employing the "Lydian Lion" was evidence that these coins were legal tender of the king and his kingdom, a concept that is not found in the ancient world before Lydia.