Coins of ancient Greece (or Hellas), some with the head of Athena on one side and the owl of Athens on the other, were widely used. The daric was nicknamed “Archer” because it bore the image of the warrior king holding a bow and arrow, and became widely known throughout the ancient world.Īlexander the Great, coin of Macedonia, 336-323 BC, Archaeological Museum, Pella” by Following Hadrian is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0Īlthough the Lydian stater and, later, the Persian daric, dominated the coin currency of the ancient world, other nations and sovereignties produced coins of their own. The Persians eventually began to use gold as the primary metal in their coins and the daric, named after Darius the Great (521-486 BC), became their standard gold coin currency. This uniform exchange rate based upon the Lydian stater helped to widen Lydia’s influence through the territories on the west coast of Asia Minor.Ĭroesus’ reign came to an end when he was captured by the Persians in 546. Croesus was insightful and shrewd when it came to pushing the boundaries of trade-he made sure that his country took the lead and reaped the benefits. The result of this exchange standard meant that the coinage could be used internationally. In this manner, a convenient exchange rate of ten silver staters to one gold stater was established. The gold staters weighed 126 grains and the silver staters weighed 168 grains. These gold and silver creosid (after Croesus) coins also gave rise to a stable exchange rate. The coins of Lydia had all of the necessary ingredients for a successful form of currency: they were durable, transportable, divisible, the metal of composition was scarce and had intrinsic value, and they were clearly marked with the symbology and likenesses of their place and ruler of origin. Additionally, there were sixth-staters, twelfth-staters, as well as staters in fractions of 1/24, 1/48, and 1/96.
They were also broken into fractional denominations, the most common, the third-stater, or trite, was one-third the weight of the stater. These coins had the advantage of a more definite intrinsic value because of their underlying metals, whereas electrum’s worth was more difficult to calculate owing to their mix of metals. Croesus ordered the creation of coins that were made of pure gold and silver, unlike the popular “electrum” coins of the day. By this time, through highly successful trading, Lydia had accumulated large stores of gold. This approach to minting coins soon caught on within the kingdoms and empires that traded with Lydia, particularly in Anatolia and Hellas (Greece).Ĭroesus of Mermnadae, the last king of Lydia (560-546 BC), further refined the practice. Created by a punch and bearing Assyrian symbolism and the Lydian lion, these coins were the unmistakable tender of the Lydian kingdom and its ruler. Smaller coins used only the right-facing lion with a sunburst at the top. The coins were minted in Sardis (or Sardes), the Lydian capital, with the foreparts of a lion (on the left) and a bull (on the right) facing one another. Importantly, this was also the first time that a coin was stamped with the marking of its country of origin. Although raw electrum stater coins were in circulation prior to this time, this was the first time coins were produced that were of a standardized composition, weight, and shape. It is believed that these coins were introduced during the reign of King Alyattes, who was sovereign from 619-560 BCE. To give it a more golden shine, a bit of copper was sometimes added. The Lydian’s strengthened the electrum by adding metals to it so that the balance was roughly 55% gold to 45% silver. The stater was made from a naturally-occurring alloy called, “electrum,” which is composed of gold and silver. , CC BY-SA 3.0, Link The Lydian Stater and Persian DaricĪccording to historians, the first coin issued by a nation’s government was the Lydian Stater, the official coin of the Lydian Empire (modern day eastern Turkey).
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