Editing Lydia (section)

==== First coinage ====
[[File:BMC 06.jpg|thumb|Early 6th century BC Lydian electrum coin (one-third stater denomination).]]
{{See also|Croeseid}}

According to [[Herodotus]], the Lydians were the first people to use gold and silver [[coin]]s and the first to establish retail shops in permanent locations.<ref>Herodotus. ''Histories'', I, 94.</ref> It is not known, however, whether Herodotus meant that the Lydians were the first to use coins of pure gold and pure silver or the first precious metal coins in general.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coinage |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/coinage/ |website=worldhistory.org}}</ref> Despite this ambiguity, this statement of Herodotus is one of the pieces of evidence most often cited on behalf of the argument that Lydians invented coinage, at least in the West, although the first coins (under [[Alyattes I]], reigned c.591–c.560 BC) were neither gold nor silver but an alloy of the two called [[electrum]].<ref>Carradice and Price, Coinage in the Greek World, Seaby, London, 1988, p. 24.</ref>

The dating of these first stamped coins is one of the most frequently debated topics of ancient numismatics,<ref>N. Cahill and J. Kroll, "New Archaic Coin Finds at Sardis," American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 109, No. 4 (October 2005), p. 613.</ref> with dates ranging from 700 BC to 550 BC, but the most common opinion is that they were minted at or near the beginning of the reign of King Alyattes (sometimes referred to incorrectly as Alyattes II).<ref>{{Cite web |title=CROESUS – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/croesus |access-date=Sep 28, 2020 |website=iranicaonline.org}}</ref><ref>A. Ramage, "Golden Sardis," King Croesus' Gold: Excavations at Sardis and the History of Gold Refining, edited by A. Ramage and P. Craddock, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000, p. 18.</ref> The first coins were made of [[electrum]], an [[alloy]] of gold and silver that occurs naturally but that was further debased by the Lydians with added silver and copper.<ref>M. Cowell and K. Hyne, "Scientific Examination of the Lydian Precious Metal Coinages," King Croesus' Gold: Excavations at Sardis and the History of Gold Refining, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2000, pp. 169–174.</ref>

{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| align             = right
| header            = Croeseids
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| image1            = KINGS of LYDIA. Kroisos. Circa 561-546 BC. AV Stater (16mm, 10.73 g). Heavy series. Sardes mint.jpg
| width1            = 220
| caption1          = <small>Gold Croeseid, minted by king [[Croesus]] circa 561–546 BC. (10.7 grams, [[Sardis]] mint).</small>
| image2            = KINGS of LYDIA. Kroisos. Circa 560-546 BC. AR Stater.jpg
| width2            = 220
| caption2          = <small>Silver Croeseid, minted by king Croesus, circa 560–546 BC (10.7 grams, Sardis mint) </small>
| footer            = The gold and silver Croeseids formed the world's first [[bimetallism|bimetallic monetary system]] circa 550 BC.<ref name="WM49">{{cite book |last1=Metcalf |first1=William E. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199372188 |pages=49–50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trkUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA49 |language=en}}</ref>
| footer_align      = center
}}

The largest of these coins are commonly referred to as a 1/3 [[stater]] (''trite'') denomination, weighing around 4.7&nbsp;grams, though no full staters of this type have ever been found, and the 1/3 stater probably should be referred to more correctly as a stater, after a type of a transversely held scale, the weights used in such a scale (from ancient Greek ίστημι=to stand), which also means "standard."<ref>L. Breglia, "Il materiale proveniente dalla base centrale dell'Artemession di Efeso e le monete di Lidia", ''Istituto Italiano di Numismatica Annali'', volumes 18–19 (1971/72), pp. 9–25.</ref> These coins were stamped with a lion's head adorned with what is likely a sunburst, which was the king's symbol.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=E. |year=1951 |title=The Coins from the Ephesian Artemision Reconsidered |journal=Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=71 |page=159 |doi=10.2307/628197 |jstor=628197 |s2cid=163067302}}</ref> The most prolific mint for early electrum coins was Sardis which produced large quantities of the lion head thirds, sixths and twelfths along with lion paw fractions.<ref>{{cite web |author=KORAY KONUK |title=ASIA MINOR TO THE IONIAN REVOLT |url=http://www.achemenet.com/pdf/in-press/KONUK_Asia_Minor.pdf |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=Achemenet.com}}</ref> To complement the largest denomination, fractions were made, including a ''hekte'' (sixth), ''hemihekte'' (twelfth), and so forth down to a 96th, with the 1/96 stater weighing only about 0.15&nbsp;grams. There is disagreement, however, over whether the fractions below the twelfth are actually Lydian.<ref>M. Mitchiner, Ancient Trade and Early Coinage, Hawkins Publications, London, 2004, p. 219.</ref>

Alyattes' son was [[Croesus]] (Reigned c.560–c.546 BC), who became associated with great wealth. Croesus is credited with issuing the ''[[Croeseid]]'', the first true [[gold coin]]s with a standardised purity for general circulation,<ref name="WM49" /> and the world's first [[bimetallism|bimetallic monetary system]] circa 550 BC.<ref name="WM49" />

It took some time before ancient coins were used for commerce and trade. Even the smallest-denomination electrum coins, perhaps worth about a day's subsistence, would have been too valuable for buying a loaf of bread.<ref>"Hoards, Small Change, and the Origin of Coinage," Journal of the Hellenistic Studies 84 (1964), p. 89</ref> The first coins to be used for retailing on a large-scale basis were likely small silver fractions, Hemiobol, [[Ancient Greek coinage]] minted in [[Cyme (Aeolis)]] under [[Hermodike II]] then by the [[Ionians|Ionian Greeks]] in the late sixth century BC.<ref>M. Mitchiner, p. 214</ref>

Sardis was renowned as a beautiful city. Around 550 BC, near the beginning of his reign, Croesus paid for the construction of the [[temple of Artemis]] at [[Ephesus]], which became one of the [[Seven Wonders of the ancient world]]. Croesus was defeated in battle by [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus II]] [[Achaemenid Empire|of Persia]] in 546 BC, with the Lydian kingdom losing its autonomy and becoming a Persian [[satrapy]].