Ancient coins on MA-Shops: Kingdom Lydia – Croesus – MA-Shops Blog

Kingdom Lydia – Croesus

By the time Croesus succeeded his father Alyattes as king of Lydia in 561 B.C., electrum coinage already had been used in Asia Minor for decades.Herodotus (1.94.1) states that the Lydians were the first to produce coins of gold and silver, an innovation now confidently attributed to Croesus, seemingly in about 550 B.C.

Though the motivation for this advancement is nowhere recorded, it is generally assumed that it was meant to make it easier to determine the intrinsic value of the coins.

Here below you can find more information about Croesus. You can find the AR Stater, Kingdom Lydia on MA-Shops www.ma-shops.com.

MA-Shops is an internet marketplace with a network of coin dealers to sell coins, paper currency, medals, military directly to the collector. Founded by Joachim Schwiening, MA-Shops offers a wide variety of Ancient, Modern, World and US coins.

Below some nice examples about this topic.

AR Stater KINGDOM LYDIA – or double shekel, struck in Sardes Very rare

18,600,- US$

obv. Foreparts of lion right and bull left, face-to-face
rev. Two incuse squares, side by side.
All new Croesus coins portrayed on their obverse the confronted foreparts of a lion and a bull, a design steeped in the royal and cosmic imagery of the Near East. The reverse was a simple, two part punch on which one segment was larger than the other. This corresponded to the dimensions of the planchets and the obverse die, on which the lion was noticeably larger than the bull. In both gold and silver the principal denomination was a stater, that originally weighted about 10,70 grams. The silver stater remained at that weight, but the gold soon was reduced to about 8 grams, requiring that a distinction is made between the heavy and light gold stater of Croesus. The main denominations were supplemented with fractional denominations. following the established pattern of many older electrum coinages. Croesus had been issuing his new coins for only about four years when, in 546, his powerful and prosperous kingdom was sacked by the Achaemenid King Cyrus. Instead of executing Croesus, Cyrus embraced him as an advisor, as he admired Croesus despite his defeat. Cyrus also recognized the value of Croesus coinage to the regional economy, and he continued to strike coins of the same design, purity and weight. The differences between the last issues of Croesus and the first of Cyrus are not perfectly or universally understood, as the only indications are often-subtle aspects of style and fabric. By about 500 B.C., if not earlier, the next Persian king, Darius I (522-486 B.C.), abandoned the lion-and-bull type of Croesus and transformed the Lydian coinage into one that was distinctively Persian. The obverse now showed an archer who usually is described as the Great King, but who may be a hero, and the reverse was struck with a single, oblong punch. Though Darius kept the light-weight stater as his main gold denomination, he chose the silver half-stater (circa 5.35 grams). valued at 1/20^th of the gold piece, as his principal silver coin. the new gold pice came to be known as a daric after King Darius, and the silver piece a siglos, the Greek form of the Semitic shekel.
In excentional condition for the issue. Unusually well struck and complete.
Very rare

Other nice Ancient Coins on MA-Shops:

Calabria, Taras – AR Didrachm, 340-325 B.C. Signed masterpiece

30,750,- US$

Weight: 7,89gr. | silver Ø 21mm.
Signed by thet “KAL…” engraver. He made some of the finest dies ever produced in Magna Graecia.
obv. Naked horseman on prancing horse right, lancing downwards with right hand, behind large round shield and two more lances
rev. Phalanthos on dolphin right, holding crested helmet between his hands, with his head slightly bowed towards it, on either side an eight rayed star

This didrachme is regarded as one of the most artistically masterful and beautiful of all Tarentine didrachms, of spendid late classical style.
Excellent almost uncirculated obverse, reverse struck with worn dies.

AV Aureus Roman Empire VESPASIANUS – Asia Minor/Syrian mint

96,000,- US$

Grade: other example is known | Biaggi collection
Catalog: First Jewish-Roman war (66-73 A.D.)

Weight 6,58gr. | gold Ø 18,5mm.
obv. Laurated head right IMP(bullet)CAES(bullet)VESPASIANVS(bullet)AVG
rev. SPQR – OB(bullet)CS within oak wreath
This coin was struck in Antiochia, shortly after Vespasianus had become the new emperor. In was in the time of the First Jewish-Roman war (66-73 A.D.), and possible the production of silver denariii and aurii in the mint of Antioch was related to this war. Money was needed to pay the Roman troops. The “civic crown” on the reverse traditionally had been presented to Romans who in battle saved the life of another citizen, though it was also awarded for saving a life under other circumstances, or for saving the state. It was one of the greatest public honours, and recipients received benefactions ranging from the practical to the honorary, such as having spectators rise as they entered a public theatre, The crown was awarded to Augustus in 27 B.C. as a reflection of his restoration of peace in the realm, by which he saved the lives of many Romans and preserved the state. By the reign of Claudius, however, the awarding pf the corona civica seems to have become standard part of the accession honours. From this cointype only one other example is known | Biaggi collection (see Ars Classica Auction 72, Zürich 16-17 May 2013, no.623, about XF, sold for CHF 87.500 + 18%). Probably 2nd known. Excessively rare and of great historical importance.

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