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Coin Detail
Click here to see enlarged image.
ID:
728500
[UNVERIFIED]
Type:
Greek
Region:
LYDIAN KINGS
Issuer:
Uncertain King
Date Ruled:
Before 561 BC
Metal:
Electrum
Denomination:
Trite
Struck / Cast:
struck
Date Struck:
BC Before 561
Weight:
4.68 g
Obverse Description:
Head of roaring lion right, rayed knob on forehead
Reverse Description:
Double incuse punch
Primary Reference:
Weidauer 86-89
Reference2:
SNG VA 2868
Photograph Credit:
Classical Numismatic Group
Source:
http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=22518
Grade:
Choice EF
Notes:
Exceptional oversized flan Other than the literary tradition ascribing the origin of coinage to the kings of Lydia, there is little evidence for a more exact chronology of early Greek coinage. The tradition, buttressed by limited archaeological studies, does confirm Asia Minor as the place of origin, most likely Lydia or Ionia, and a date somewhere around 650 BC. The alloy, which used a mixture of gold and silver known to the Greeks as elektron, was based on the natural ore found in nugget form in many riverbeds in the region. The earliest globular, typeless coins imitated this natural form, later developing into simple striated and punched patterns of squares, rectangles and swastikas. The earliest true types, such as the lion and horse-head types in the Stevenson collection, may have developed from the use of personal seals, the most widely known being the stater of Ephesos with a stag bearing the inscription "I am a seal of Phanes". These devices later took on the characteristics of civic symbols, although it would be dangerous to link a specific symbol to a particular city in this early period. The intrinsic value of the early electrum, even down to the 1/96 stater and smaller denominations, was too high for use in everyday commerce, and must have seen use only for the transfer of large sums of money. Such transfers would include mercantile transactions, payment of government expenses (mercenaries, tribute, and such), and donatives, either for services rendered to individuals or the state, or to religious foundations. The Artemision deposits, highly significant but still decidedly controversial hoards of early electrum found at the site of the temple of Artemis at Ephesos, are examples of the latter.
Created and Managed by Alfredo De La Fe
