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802
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ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK
See original version (French)
802
-
ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK
See original version (French)
Estimate €6,000
Voluntary lot
Description
ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK
Lydia, Croesus (561–546 BC). Gold stater or ‘Cresoid’, light weight ND series (560–540 BC), Sardis.
Obverse: Lion’s protome facing right, mouth open, opposite a bull’s protome on the left.
Reverse: Two hollow squares.
SNG von Aulock 2875; Gold – 7.97 g – 13 mm – 12 h
NGC Ch VF 5/5 2/5 (6639263-001).
The light series features coins weighing around 8 g. Beautifully struck in high relief. Light golden patina. Superb.
Croesus was the first to mint coins from pure gold. His kingdom represented the last bulwark against the westward expansion of the Persian Empire. Encouraged by a prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi, which promised that he would destroy a great empire if he attacked it, he went to war against Cyrus the Great and was defeated. Although his army was superior in numbers, it was annihilated and Sardis, the capital, was captured by Cyrus. Croesus and his family were put to death on Cyrus’s orders. Lydia became a satrapy of the Persian Empire but continued to mint its own coins. Croesus’s legendary wealth was used by Cyrus to mint a new Persian gold coin, the daric.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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