Kingdom of Lydia, Kroisos AV Stater. Light series. Sardes, circa 564-39 BC. Confronted foreparts of roaring lion to right and bull to left, each with extended foreleg / Two incuse squares punches. GRPC Lydia G51; Berk 3; Traité I 401-3; SNG von Aulock 2875; SNG Lockett 2983 = Pozzi 2726; Athena Fund I 60; BMC 31-4; Boston MFA 2073; Gulbenkian 757; Zhuyuetang 11.

NGC graded AU 5/5 - 4/5, light scuff (#6155582-001); a tremendously bright and lustrous example.

Ex Paramount Collection, Heritage World Coin Auctions, March Signature Sale 3096, 25 March 2021, lot 30031 (hammer: USD 36,000);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Auction 23, 19 March 2002, lot 1274.

Kroisos is credited with issuing the first true gold coins with a standardised purity for general circulation. The series began on a 'heavy' standard, with gold and silver staters of equal weight, around 10.6-10.7 grams, which was later reduced to about 8.17 grams for the gold. Studies have shown that coins of both standards circulated together, but that the heavy standard was only used for a relatively short time compared to the light standard, which continued to be used into the Persian period.

All of the coins of Kroisos feature without variation his heraldic badge, the confronted heads of a lion and a bull, both ancient symbols of power. The badge itself doubtless stems from the ubiquitous and persistent theme of the lion-bull combat scene, which may be interpreted as a metaphor for divinely inspired heroic triumph. Indeed, divinely inspired heroic triumph was exactly what Kroisos expected when, encouraged by a prediction by the Delphic Oracle that if he attacked Persia he would destroy a great empire, Kroisos made his preparations for war with Cyrus the Great. The war resulted in defeat for Kroisos; his numerically superior army was smashed, and the capital Sardes was captured along with Kroisos and his family, who were immolated on the orders of Cyrus. Lydia became a satrapy of the Persian Empire, though it continued to mint coins in the traditional types, and indeed the legendary wealth of Kroisos was used by Cyrus to form the basis of a new Persian gold standard currency.