Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 126 17 Nov 2021
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Kings of Lydia. Alyattes, circa 620/610-560
Third of siglos or Trite, Sardes before 561, EL 4.72 g. Lion's head with open jaws; on forehead, dot with multiple rays. Rev. One incuse punch. Weidauer 87. Artemision, White Gold –. Rosen 655-656. Linzalone 1090. SNG Kayhan 1013. Mitchner, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, group D, 20. Boston, MFA 1764.
Struck on a very broad flan and extremely fine
Ex Spink Numismatic Circular vol. LXI, 5, 1953, 17489 and Gemini sale VII, 2011, 535. From the Rockefeller University/Dr. Alfred E. Mirsky collection.
Graded XF Strike 5/5 Surface 3/5, NGC certification number 6157577-009
Although it has sometimes been argued that the invention of coinage should be attributed to the Ionian Greeks as well as the kings of Lydia, today numismatists generally favor the Lydian roots. Not only are the Lydian origins backed by ancient authors, but the presence of typically Lydian characters on some of the very rare coins found in the Artemesium, plus the geographic location of Lydia on the crossroads of East and West, its reputation as a great nation of traders, and the territorial domination it exercised over Asia Minor all point in its favor, as do its abundant resources of precious metals. The Pactolus River, which ran through the Lydian capital, was notably full of flakes and nuggets of electrum. Indeed, the Lydians' wealth became proverbial- even today we recall the famous phrase, \as rich as Croesus\\. Some one hundred electrum coins of varying weights found in the Artemesium excavations display, on the reverse, one or several marks in the form of an \"incuse square\". The obverse may be simple and smooth, or have a striped pattern, or even feature a raised image of a figure sometimes geometrical - but usually an animal such as a cock, horse, bull, ram, or boar- set against a smooth or striped ground. These figures are emblems of the issuing city-states. A roaring lion is associated with Lydia, the lion being a traditional Lydian symbol. The weights of these coins, meanwhile, correspond to the weight of a stater or simple divisions thereof (half, one-third, one-sixth, etc.) even though they belong to several monetary systems. Since the weight of a stater might vary from one city-state or kingdom to another, the system used in the kingdom of Lydia as far as Miletus in Ionia is known as the Lydo-Milesian standard (one stater weighs 14.30 grams). The uniform degree of wear of the coins and the fact that some of them, although having different obverses (with or without motifs), were struck with identical dies on the reverse, leads to the conclusion that all these very early coins were issued over a relatively short time-span. The emergence of coinage probably dates to just a few decades before these examples were buried, that is to say no later than the reconstruction of the temple by Croesus around 560 BCE, and no earlier than the late seventh century.
https://vimeo.com/630141800""
Third of siglos or Trite, Sardes before 561, EL 4.72 g. Lion's head with open jaws; on forehead, dot with multiple rays. Rev. One incuse punch. Weidauer 87. Artemision, White Gold –. Rosen 655-656. Linzalone 1090. SNG Kayhan 1013. Mitchner, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, group D, 20. Boston, MFA 1764.
Struck on a very broad flan and extremely fine
Ex Spink Numismatic Circular vol. LXI, 5, 1953, 17489 and Gemini sale VII, 2011, 535. From the Rockefeller University/Dr. Alfred E. Mirsky collection.
Graded XF Strike 5/5 Surface 3/5, NGC certification number 6157577-009
Although it has sometimes been argued that the invention of coinage should be attributed to the Ionian Greeks as well as the kings of Lydia, today numismatists generally favor the Lydian roots. Not only are the Lydian origins backed by ancient authors, but the presence of typically Lydian characters on some of the very rare coins found in the Artemesium, plus the geographic location of Lydia on the crossroads of East and West, its reputation as a great nation of traders, and the territorial domination it exercised over Asia Minor all point in its favor, as do its abundant resources of precious metals. The Pactolus River, which ran through the Lydian capital, was notably full of flakes and nuggets of electrum. Indeed, the Lydians' wealth became proverbial- even today we recall the famous phrase, \as rich as Croesus\\. Some one hundred electrum coins of varying weights found in the Artemesium excavations display, on the reverse, one or several marks in the form of an \"incuse square\". The obverse may be simple and smooth, or have a striped pattern, or even feature a raised image of a figure sometimes geometrical - but usually an animal such as a cock, horse, bull, ram, or boar- set against a smooth or striped ground. These figures are emblems of the issuing city-states. A roaring lion is associated with Lydia, the lion being a traditional Lydian symbol. The weights of these coins, meanwhile, correspond to the weight of a stater or simple divisions thereof (half, one-third, one-sixth, etc.) even though they belong to several monetary systems. Since the weight of a stater might vary from one city-state or kingdom to another, the system used in the kingdom of Lydia as far as Miletus in Ionia is known as the Lydo-Milesian standard (one stater weighs 14.30 grams). The uniform degree of wear of the coins and the fact that some of them, although having different obverses (with or without motifs), were struck with identical dies on the reverse, leads to the conclusion that all these very early coins were issued over a relatively short time-span. The emergence of coinage probably dates to just a few decades before these examples were buried, that is to say no later than the reconstruction of the temple by Croesus around 560 BCE, and no earlier than the late seventh century.
https://vimeo.com/630141800""