Lydian Kroisos 1/3 Silver Stater

Culture: Lydian

Period: 561-546 B.C.

Material: Silver

Dimensions: 1.4 cm long, 3.3 grams

Price: Sold

Ref: 9022

Provenance: Collection Gert Cleff, Wuppertal

Condition: Very fine

Description: The Lydian king Kroisos created the world’s first bimetallic monetary system and was the first to mint coins in both gold and silver. This 1/3 silver stater bears his seal, depicting a lion with open jaws and a raised paw confronting a bull with lifted head and horns. The animals appear to charge at one another as equals. The lion and the bull were regarded as symbols of power and strength, courage and endurance. The reverse, like that of all early coins, displays the rough punch marks of the upper die, known as a quadratum incusum.