KINGS of LYDIA. Kroisos. Circa 564/53-550/39 BC. AR Stater (20.5mm, 10.64 g). Sardes mint. Confronted foreparts of lion and bull / Two incuse squares. Berk 20; Kurth S1; Traité I 407–8; SNG Ashmolean 760. Faintly toned, typical granular surfaces and slight doubling on obverse. VF.
While the Lydian Kingdom in central Asia Minor had previously struck coins in electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, the accession of Kroisos to the Lydian throne circa 564/53 BC ushered in an important milestone in economics: the first true bimetallic coinage in gold and silver. The design chosen by Kroisos, confronting foreparts of a lion and bull, thought to symbolize the sun and the moon, but are also possibly dynastic in nature, with the lion referring to the previous king, Alyattes, and the bull representing his son and successor, Kroisos.
Perhaps because of his association with gold and silver, Kroisos became legendary for his wealth. There are several accounts of his interactions with another legendary Greek, the sage Solon of Athens, in which they discuss wealth and fortune. The most famous ancient account of Kroisos occurred when he questioned the Delphic Oracle as to whether he should make war on the rising Persian Kingdom of Cyrus the Great. The oracle answered, with typical ambiguity, that if he attacked the Persians, Kroisos would destroy a great empire. On this advice he attacked the Persians, and, after an inconclusive battle, was besieged and captured at his capital city of Sardes in 546 BC, thus destroying his own “great empire.” The ultimate fate of Kroisos is uncertain; though Herotodus reports that he continued as an advisor to Cyrus after the Persians absorbed Lydia and advised him concrning his fateful campaign against the Massagetae.
