OXFORD

UN I \'J;RS I TY I'R t; S';

Oxford Univer.l l!y Presl, Jnc., pllblid'k'i worh tlul further

O xford Uni"~nity\ objl'~livf of e~(fJll'n (~

in rf""~
Kh..,lanh ip. ami fdu(~l iQn .

T(n.

Oxford New York

C~P" To wn

/mckbnd

OM n &:.laam

Ho ng Kong

Kal<l chi

MJdrid M~lbourn~ Muiw Cil y N.,irobi

l'I~w Od hi Sh~ngha; T~ilX"; TurolllQ

Kuab lumpur

With (10Ic<'$ in
"'s~nli n a

Au~tri:P.

Cl. h R"publi( I'r~"a G",,,,e

C UJ1l'm alJ lIullg>lry Italy Jap:all Poblld Porh.lg;Jl Singapo ' (,
50 mh Ko~a Swi tl.erland Tha ib nd Turby Ukraine Viet nam

Copyrigh t

I:Iruil

Ch il~

lOll by OKford Univ('uity Pnm, Inc.

Puh li)ncd by Oxf()rd Uni-'cnity Pr.. n. rnc.

1981> l adi~l l1

"wnu.., N~w Y,) rk, N('w Y<'Itk '00 ,,1

w\<o'w.oup.com

Oxfo rd;1

All righu

<1

rfgilte l't'd ludema rk of O xford Univtnit y Presl

rt~m~d.

No pari (I f this puhlication mal' b~ repmdll(t'd,

. Io red ill a relri..,'al 'l"t~ m, or tran,mittOO. in 3n1 (",rm o r by ~ nr meano,

tl~lronic. mKhanK:al. poolo<;opying. ~o rdi!lg, o r o thuwi!of',
w;IOOul dw " rior l>e r m i\~k> n of O xford Ulli".,uily Prel~.
LibrM!' o f Con~I' C "l.lloging -in- Pl.lblkari(} t\ J)~1:l
T h .. O xford handbook o f G r..... k and Roman (o inage I edi led by W ill iam E, t- Iet(alf.

p. ,m.
Incl ude. bib liograrhical rd.. rt'tl cel ~tld ;mkx,
ISB N ?7S-()-l HjO}74~
I . (;(lin~. G rcck- I bnd/)oQks, m~nu~ I" tIC.
l. Co ins, Rom a'l_ Handbooks. manl.l~lI. ~tc.
J. Gr~ .. _ Antiq l.l il ij',_ Handbook\, manuail, <'Ie.
4. R"'lllf-An .iqui lit,-1 [andboob, manual!, t IC.

r.

MCIC-~If.

William "I I. Till ..: Handboo k " f Greek ~nd Roman (oinagc.
C JJJ9.09s 1.0 11
9Ji'.-dcH
1OIO<I53S.\6

l'rill1"d in lhe Un it.'<.l SlalCS of Amctj,."11

o n acid. frl'(' IY"pt r

CONTENTS

Con tributors
A blmt via l ;0115
..
XVII
Preface

IX

...

XII]

Intr od uction

Willjam E. Metcalf
1.

Th e Subs tan ce of Coi nage: The Role of Scientific Analysis

in An cient Num ismatics 12
Mtwht!w J. Ponting
P A RT I

2.

AR C H A IC AND C LASS I CA L GRE EK CO I NAGE

The Mo netary Backgrou nd of Ea rl y Co inage

John 11. KwU

3. Asia Mino r to the Ion ian Re vol t

3J

43

K ora)' KDllIIk

4. The Coina ge of th e Persia n Empi re

Michtlel A/rilm

61

5. Th e Coina ge of Athens, Sixth to Firs t Century B.C.

Peter C. I'an Alfen
6. Aegina, th e Cyclades, an d Cre te

105

Kemuth Sheed}'

7. The Coinage of Italy

N. K. Rutter

12 8

8. The Co ina ge of Sicily 142

WOljgtirJg Fisch er-Bossert
9. Greece and the Balkans to 360 B.C.

Selene PsoTlia

157

88

VI

CO N TENTS

PART II TH E H ELLEN ISTI C WORLD

10. Royal Hellen ist ic Coi nages: From Alex ander to Mi lhra da tes
Fmnrois de CallI/IllY
11 .

T he Hellenisti c World : The Cities of Mainland Greece

and Asi a Mina r

Rh'hard Ashton
12.

191

T he Coi nage of the Ptolemies

Cath arin e C. Lorber

13 . T he Seleucids

211

235

Arthllr HOl/ghtoll
14.

G reek Coinages of Pale sti ne

Orell Ta l

15. T he Coinage of the Pa r thia ns

25 2

~75

Fabrizio Sin isi

PART

III

TIH ROM AN WOR1.D

16. Early Roman Coinage and Its Italian Conte xt

A"drt'w Burnett
17. T he Denarius Coi na ge of the Rom an Repu bli c

297

315

Bemhard E. WO)'l ek

18. T he lul io-C laudians

Reinlhird Woltas

335

19. T he An cie nt Coinages of lh e Iberia n Peninsula

356

Pere P. RiJ1ol/es
20.

Fla vian Co inage

Ju n Carmdice

375

21.

T he Coi nage of the Ro man P ro vinces through H adri an

Michel Amandr),
22.

Trajan and Hadrian

Marr in Beckmann

4 05

391

175

CO NTENT S

23. Antonine Coi nage

VII

4 2)

Liv Mariah Yarrow

24. Th e Pro vinces after Com modus
tArm joirnstrUi

453

25. Syria in the Rom an Period , 64 Be- AD 260

468

Kev;" BUleh er
26. Roman Coi nages of Palestine

485

llaim Gitler
27. Th e Severans

499

Rich tlrd Abdy

28 . From Go rdi an III to the Gall ic Empire (AD 238-274)

514

Roger Bland
29. Th e Later T h ird Century
S)'l l' ijHl ~

538

Estiot

30. The Co inage of Roman Egypt

561

Allgelo Geiss~ n
)l.

Tetrarchy and the House of Co nsta ntine

584

Riehl/rd Abd)'

32 . The Co ina ge of the Later Roma n Empi re. 364- 498

S lI1I1

601

Mo orl!w d

33. The Transfo rm at ion of the West

633

A lall M. S tahl

Appen d ix

I.

Appendix

2.

Ma rks of Valu e (Ce rta in an d Possible) all La te Roman Co ins

wi th Intrinsic Va lues (from Aurelian)
Raga Blaml 655
Earliest Chri stian Symbols on Roman Coi ns
Rid lllrd AbdJ' 663

Glojsllry 667
Indices 671
(/. Persons
fl. Mims
c. Iloards liud f indj
d. General

CHAPTER

ASIA MINOR TO THE

IONIAN REVOLT
........... . .... ... . ...... .. . ... .. . .......... . ..... .......... . . ,

.. . ,' . ... ...... . , ... .. .

KORAY KONUK

CO INAGE, as we k.now it, origi nated in western ,\ sia Minor aro und the m iddle of
the se ven th ce n tury (all ancien t d ates are B.C.). T his was a significa nt step in a long
developm ent that starte d with ba rter and continue d wit h th e use o f a wide ra nge
of co m m odities as m o ney. In Anat o lia and parts of the Near East, preci o us metals
had lo ng been in general use for co mmercial p u rposes before the advent of coi nage
and co nst ituted t he usual mean s o f paymen t. Gold and especially silver were saved
and transacte d by we ight in the for m o f cut and broken vesse ls and jewe lery as well
as whole and fra gmentary ingots of var io us shapes and sizes (see chapter 2 here).
Wi th coi nage, an iss ui ng authority, usually th e state, weighed the pieces o f p recious
me tal to a recognized standard in a system of deno minatio ns and ma rked the m
with an official stamp to gua r ~lnlee their value in the area o f influe nce o f th at
authority.

COINAGE EMER GING F ROM

. .. .. , .. .... "

A FICKLE METAL: ELE C T RUM

....- . , .......... .................... ....... ..... , ....... ........... ., ...... .... .................... ....

The first co ins we re a lm ost cer tainly mint ed in the Lydian capi tal Sardis in west ern Asi a Min o r. Coin age was q u ickl y ad opted and str uck in neig hbo ri ng areas,
chiefly ronia , wh ich cam e u nd er t he co ntro l or in fl ue nce o f the Lydi ans, who seem
to have n u rt ured a particu la r disposition for co mme rce and, acco rding to
Herodotus, we re the first peo ple to engage in re tail trade. Un der the Me rmn ad

44

ARCHAI C AND CI. ASS ICAI. GREE K COINAG E

ki ngs, Lydia prospered and became the mo st powerfu l state in the region by se iz
ing con tro l of a numbe r of Ionian ci t ies. An impor tant feature of these firs l coins
is Ih al Ihey were all made of electrum, an all oy of go ld and silver wilh sm all
amounts of other clements (co pper. traces of t in. lead , and iron). Deposi ts of
elect rum occurred in the silts of rivers, such as the Her mus and the PacLOlus,
which flowed through the Lydian capita l Sardis (Ramage and Craddock 2000:
14-26). The name of the alloy de rives from the Greek efektron, which originally
m eant amber and was later applied to the alloy because of its pale yell ow colo r.
Herodotus ca ll s it "white gold" in o pp osition to boiled (refined or pure) gold.
Electrum was a co mmod ity available locally and was large ly contro lled by the
Lydian kings, who lurned some of it into coins by apply ing a design o n lu mps of
elect rum of co nsistent wei ghts. With its naturally var iab le con tent of gold, elec
trum in its bullio n form was a difficult mela l to use in excha nges. fo r every time
it changed hands, its intrinsic value had to be ascertai ned usi ng a "Lydi an ston e"
(touchstone; Craddock 2000: 247). The gold content of alluv ial elec t rum varied
greatly, fr om around 6;% 10 85% (Meeks 2000: 14;- 148; Keyser and Clark 2001:
107). To cou nte r this problem , Lydians turned bu ll ion elearum in to co in s. Coi nage
was invented precise ly because of the varying in tr insic value of elecrrum, which
co uld not readily circulate with o ut a gua rantee (Wallace 1987; Kroll 2008: 18).
Coinage was meant to solve a local difficuhy in Lydia and its subjec t territ ories:
that of us ing a me tal of incons isten t value in transactions. By putting devices on
carefully weighed lumps of electrum, the issuing autho rity would fix the face
va lue of elec trum at apparently the highest point of its in tri nsic value (Price 1983:
5). A num ber of early elec t rum coins have been ana lyzed to deter mine their exac t
alloy co mpo si tion. A set of dat a invo lving 30 coi ns from two hoards from Samos
shows a wide range o f go ld percentages, fr om 84% to 46%, wit h a mean pe rce nt
age at around 55-60% (Nicole tPierre and Barra ndon 1997: 130; Konuk 2005: 49).
T his co n trasts wilh their weights. whic h feature remarkable accura cy and cons is
tency between various denom inat ions. lu st a few of these coins might have been
str uck with natural electrum (thre e or four of the coins with the highest con ten t
of go ld), whereas all the remaining ones m ust have be en min ted with artifici ally
m ade o r al tered electrum, con tain in g less gold an d more silver and co ppe r (Keyse r
and Clark 2001: 106). The amount of cop per increases (u p to 3.6%) as the gold
propo rti on decrea ses; copper may have been added proportionally to standardize
the appearance of coins of varying gold conten t (Konuk 2005: 51). A fu rther se t of
coins to have been probed are the Lyd ian lion head issues, whi ch have a much
1110 re sta ble proportion of gold, at arou nd 54%, wi th around 2% copper (Cowell
and Hyne 2000 : 170-171; Keyser and Clar k 2001: 114). Lydian coi ns were clea rly
str uck with a manipula ted alloy that contained a lower pro portion of gold than is
fou nd in natu ral electrum (70-75% gold on average). The face Or exchange value
of th ese co ins wo uld have been supe rior to their intrinsic value , perhaps by as
m uch as some 20%, to coincide with a value close to th at of natural elect rullI (Le
Rider 2001 : 9 4-95; see be low for an anecdo te in Herodotus involvi ng a gift made
by Croesus from which the value in quest ion Illay perhaps be determined).

ASIA MINOR T O THE IONI AN REVOl.T

45

With th e exce pt ion of some elect ru m issues with a plain surface or simple
str iations on Iheir main side (called the obverse, fig. ).1), the ear liest coinage is
characte rized by a large divers it y of designs that are called "types" (Coio s with
plain and/or stria ted surfaces and co ins carrying types ci rculated together and ,ue
th erefore contemporary as hoa rd evid ence shows; a punch-sharing has also been
nO led between a type less coi n and a lion typ e coin : Karwiese 1991: 9-10.) Wild and
domesti c animals are mos t frequently represented, often just foreparts, heads, or
body parts (lion paws); li ons (figs. 3.2, 3.8, 3.12, 3.1 3, 3.15) were especially pop ul ar in
the electr um bestia ry, which include d rams, goa ts (fig. 3.3), stags (fig. 3.n), boars,
bulls (fig. 3.15). horses (fig. 3.4), hares, foxes, dogs, to rtoises, vari o us birds, fish,
seals, OCIOPliS (fig. 3.9), crabs, do lphins, insects such as bees (fig. 3.7), and bee tles.
Fantastic animals (winged horses, griffins, the Chimaera). monsters (go rgons,
sirens, winged men), obj ects (fibulae, thunderbolts, sh ie lds), h uman depictions
(fig . ).5), geometric patterns and irregula r marki ngs (fig. 3.6) also adorn the ob verse
of these co in s (Sp ier 1990: 111 ). Close to a hun d red different devices have been
identified, an d new o nes continue to surface. Th e t ype was engraved on a die on
which was placed a preweighed piece of elec trum, wh ich wa s then str uck with a
pu nch (a simp le rod) and a hamm er. As a result. the main side recei ved the type in
positive; the other side was left with one or several punch marks (ca lled an incuse).
which ex posed the in lerio r of Ihe coin. Each iss uing authority used a principal
identifying t ype o n its co in age, but some mints used se veral types (Weidauer 1975).
At Sardis it was the li o n, the royal animal par excellence and closely associated with
the Lydian dynasty. m ost co mm o nly th e lion's head (figs. 3.12, 3.13) but also its
forepart or just its paw. A rare Lydian issue with a head of a boar, somet im es
inscr ibed, should also be placed at Sardis (Sp ier 1998: 331). In Io nia , th e ea rli es t
iden ti fiable mints ad opted th e following typ es: Ephesus: a st ag o r a bee (figs. 3.11,
3.7); Phoca ea: a sea l (fig. 3.9); Miletus: a recu m bent lion (fig. J .8) or just its head;
the island of Samos: a lio n's head facing, irregular markings, a reclining lamb o r a
bird; the island of Chios: a seated Sphinx; Cyzicus: a luna, or its head in a composition (fig. 3.10). In the case of Phocaea, the seal,phoke in Greek, is a pun on the city's
name (fig. 3.6). T here were clearly a numbe r of other mints in Ion ia that ca nnot be
identified as yet. but the n umber of mints was smaller than the muhiplici ty of
typ es would suggest , d iffe ren t ty pes being orten linked by the same punches. fu st a
handfu l of inscriptions on very early co in s arc extant , most ly in Lydian, but the
longest inscr ipt ion is in Greek and reads " I am the badge (o r se al) of Phanes"; it is
placed above a grazing stag that is depicted on a series of st aters of which fou r
specim ens are kn own today (fig. J.Il); the third one to have co me to light
(Zhuyuetang collection) has just "phaneos emi." These staters we re issued by a
mint, usually iden tified as Ephesus, Ihal produced a who le range of smaller denom in at ions (down 10 1/96 th s); the thirds have si mp ly "phaneos," "of Phanes," depicting th e stag as a fo repart o r just its head on sm aller fractions (pun ch sharing has
been noted between stater and sixth). Who this Phanes was remains a matter of
conjecture, but the fact that a fraction was discove red in a hoa rd from Ephesus
(S pi er 1998: 330) and that the "phaneos emi" stater reportedly cam e to lighl nca r

~"

-...-,

10

(X3)

15

o
II

16

12

13

18

17

14

19

t,-"

.....-

K
21

(X2)

20

23

Fig. 3. 1-3.25

'!I..>

24

25

, ...

A S IA MINOR TO THE ION I AN REVOLT

47

the modern town of Torbah (no t far from Ephesus) strengthens an att ributi on to
Ep hesus, where the stag associated wi th Ar temis was a long-standing civic coin
type. The Phanes insc riptio n deri ves fro m an e:lriier tr adi tion of sea l inscriptions
(Seaford 2004: 115-124),and it h<ls been pointed ou t (Spier 1990: 117) that the word
sema does not refe r to the device of the slag alone but rath er to both the dev ice and
the insc ript ion taken toget her as a means of ide ntifyi ng the issuer of the coi n (pe rhaps an official of Ephesus responsib le for th e issue ). Rat her than badge or emb lem,
sema would be be tt er trans lated as "seal" or "signat ure."
The most prolific mint fo r early electrum co ins was Sa rdis, which prod uced
large quant it ies of the lion he ad thirds, sixths, and twelfths, along with lion paw
fra ctions. Some of the li on head coi ns are insc ribed in Lydian wi th wa /wd Or k!l k(/~
lim (presumably meaning "I am of Kukns" or "I be long to Kukas," whic h reminds
one of the signe t seal tradi ti on; the lege nd is placed between opposing lion's heads
(Wallace 2006; fig. 3.12). Th ere is also a varian t th at reads lei Ie. between two opposing boar's he ads (Ka rwiese 2008: 147: found in 1986 in the Arte misiu m fou nda tions). On both se ries, one of the two heads is usually off flan, for th e dies see m to
have been made for sta ters th at are not extant. These co ins are punch linked, and
they see m to fo rm a fairly co mpa ct se ri es. Wafw .. / has been usually ide ntified as the
Lydian name of King Alyattes (c. 610- 560). and the oth er two names may also be
connected to the royal household. One difficu lty with attri buting the ser ies to the
time of Alyattes is th e discovery in 1994 of a kllkalim th ird (inv. ART 94 K277) in
the eastern sekos (sacred open-a ir chamber) of the temple of Croesus in a contex t
that is dated to arou nd 630/620 (Kersch ner 1997: 100; Ka r wiese 2008: (46). Fou r
walwet coi ns (third , si xth, and two twel fths) were also among the 93 Artemisiu111
deposit co ins (see below; Robi nson 1951: 166-167 ). Lion head coins show a stylist ic
evolution . and a cl assification has been proposed by Weidauer. A ho,lrd from
Go rdion in Pb r ygia of th e later lion head coins (fig. 3.13), whi ch were issued in
large qu antities, produ ced 45 specime ns in all three denomi na tio ns (Bellinger
1968). A fe w of these carry tiny punch marks (called cO llnlermarks). Other examples have one, two, and ver y oft en th ree, usu ally on both sides and some times on
the ir edges. Some lion coins are co mplete ly co vered by countermarks, in some
cases mo re th an 10. These marks were probably applied by money changers and
bankers to co ins they co nsidered of cor re ct we igh t and all oy (counte rfeits were no t
uncom mon). If these co ins came into thei r hand s again, th ey wou ld recognize the ir
marks and have 11 0 need to test them agai n. This prac tice became comm on pla ce
under the Persians on their sigloi.
We do not know whethe r there was a state mo nopoly on issui ng coinage or
whet he r so me wealt hy private indiv idu als suc h as ban kers or me rcha nts ,..,ere
also allowed to strike coins of their own (Pr ice 1983). Alth ough irregular in size
and shape, these early elect r um coins were min ted according to a str ict weight
stan dard. The denominations ra nged fr olll th e unit called stater (14.15 g in the
Lydo-Milesia n weight system ) down through hal f sta ters, thi rds. sixths. twelfths,
1/24Ihs, 1/48 Ihs, t/96t hs to Ih92nds of a stater (abo ut 0.08 g; fig. 3.14: this denomination has been re cent ly identified: Stingl 2001: 42; Konuk 2003: 33). The rich

48

ARC HA IC AN D CtASSICAL GREEK COI NAGE

iconog raph y of the ob verse of the early electrum coins co ntrasts with the dull
appeara nce of their reverse, whi ch usually carr ies on ly punch marks. The sh ape
an d number of these punc hes varie d acco rding to their denomination an d weig ht
sta nd ard . Alt ho ugh t here are some exce pti ons, the fo llo wing system was in place:
in the Lydo-Milesian stan dard , by far the most wi de ly used , st at ers ( 14.15 g) carried an o bl o ng punch mark between two sq uare o nes (figs. ). 1, ). 4 , 3.8, half state rs
had t he sa m e reverse as staters (fig ..l. 5) or they sim ply had two o blong punch
m arks, thirds an d six th s had two squa re pun ch marks (figs . 3.2 , 3.3. 3.7). and
smalle r fr act ions had o nly a sq uare one (fig . 3.14) . In th e Sa mi an (Euboeic) weig ht
system, t he stater ( 17.4 g) had two oblo ng pun ch marks, t he half stater a rectan gul ar and a sq uare (so metimes t riangula r ) punc h m ark (fi g. 3.6), and smalle r
denomina tions only a sq uare o ne. In the Ph ocaic weig ht sys tem, t he sta te r (16.8
g) had two sq uare punch marks, one b igge r tha n the other (figs. 3.9. 3. 10),
althoug h the re are a few exa mpl es with only one punch m ark , which was the rule
for sm aller Ph ocaic fracti o ns.

THE DATE OF THE EARLY ELECT RUM COINAGE

........................................................................... , ......................................... .
Excavati ons carried ou t by the British Museum at the tem ple of Artemis al Ephes us
in 1904-1905 yielded 93 co ins am ong the foundat ion de pos its of the arc haic te m ple
(Robinso n 1951) . These finds are critical for o ur understanding of how and when
Ihe ear liest coins appeared. Am ong these deposits was the earl iest kn own pOI hoard:
a group of 19 ele ctrum co ins sealed and buried together in an o lpe. The maj o ri ty of
the Art emisi um coins are Lyd ian issues of the lion head type and lion paw fractions.
Th e int erpretatio n of the Artemis ium coins, and their dating in part icular, has been
the subject of an intense debate among schol ars, so me advoca ting a high dating
(first quarter of the seve nth century: We idauer 1974 ; Furtwangler 1986), othe rs a low
dating for thei r introduction (fi rst qu arter of the six th cen tu ry: Price 198): 4, wh o
later suggested a date short ly before 600; Carrad ice and Pr ice: 20). wi th a majo rity
of numism atists o pt ing for a middle ch ronology of around 6.}0 ( Rob inso n 1951:
Kra ay 1976: 21-22; Wa llace 1987: }85). Rece11lly, an architectu ral reassessment of the
excavations made in th e "ce ntra l basis" of the Ar te misium dated t he ea rl iest context
for th e fou nda tio n deposit coins to aro un d 560 (Bammer 1990. 199 1: 83). Ho wever,
this in te rpretation ha s been vehemen tly opposed ( Weissl 2002; 315-321, 2005: 365) ,
and in any event arou nd 560 was only a term inus (Jfll ~ qll e::m , and how mu ch earlier
the fir st co ins were to be placed rem ained uncer tain. The latest evi dence from th e
Artemi sium in the fo rm of st rat igrap hi cal data of so me recently fou nd electru m
co ins sugges t tha t elec t rum coinage was already in place in around 625 (Ke rsch ner
1997). During the excavations of 199)-1994 in the eastern sekos of the dipteros of
Croes us, a few co ins were found in pre-Croesus levels. The most important contex t
was a stra ti fie d deposit of sacrificial resid ues dat ing to th e last third of th e seventh

ASIA MINOR TO TH E ION IAN REVOLT

49

century. The sacrificia l deposits were covered by river sa nd after the area had been
inundated. A Ihird-sta ter, which belo ngs to the Lydian lion head group inscribed
kllklllim (i nv. ART 94 K 277), was found in the earliest laye rs: "Opfersch icht G o r F,"
wh ich can be d ated to aro und 630/620 (Kerschner 1997: 100 , 226). Five more coins
have been found in a layer of debris on th e nor th side of the archaic dil'tl'rOS of
Croesus. Th e pottery fi nds of these con text s, however, have not ye t been stu died.
These new str atigraphica l data provided by the Austr ian excavators are consistent
with a dating th at had bee n proposed for the ol pe of th e po t hoard (Willia m s 19911993). T he vesse l was reckoned to have been bur ied between 650 and 625. and the
beg inning o f electrum coinage was t herefore pl aced around 650. It appears th at in
the lig ht of th e lates t stratig raph ic" l evidence from the Artemisium, the middle da ting should gain fu rther support, wi th perhaps an adjustment o n the ups ide o f a
decade o r two.

CROESUS AND THE ADVENT OF BIMETALLISM

. .................................................................................................................... .

For 80 years o r so, elec trum remained th e so le metal used for coi nage. Its varying
intrinsic value and the rarity of its natural occur rence outside Lydia discou raged the
spread of eleetrum coinage to othe r p:nts of the ancient wor ld. Electr um coinage
remained in effect a loca l phenome no n limit ed to Lyd ia and its subjected terr ito ries.
But towa rd the middle of the sixth cen tu ry, Croesus (561-5 46), the last and the
wealthiest king o f Lydia, was responsible for a remarkable mo netary innovation.
one that was to have a profound impa ct on th e d iffusion of coinage throughou t th e
ancient world. Herodotus repo rted th is event in th ese words: "So far as we have any
knowledge, they [t he Lydians J were t he first people to introdu ce th e use of gold and
sil ver coins. and the first who sold goods by retail " (1.94).
Croes us replaced the elect rum coinage by a currenc y sys tem o f pure gold
and pure silver coins, struck at Sardis. The multiplici t y of types on elec trum
coins wa s replaced b y a single coin type used both o n go ld and silver issues and
for all denominations, namely the co nfron ted fore par ts o f lion and bu ll st amped
on th e obve rse (fig. 3. 16). A rare issue of st aters in elect rum (fig. 3.15) de pi cting
the same foreparls but bac k to back has been alleged to re presen t the last electrum co inage o f Croesus, the anim als atta ched by the ir bac ks symbolizing gol d
(lion) and silver (b ull) still mixe d in one me tal: eleClrum (Rob inso n 1958: 585).
The confro nt ed lio n -bull coinage was later str uck by the Persians after the conquest o f Sa rdis (see below), but li fetim e issues o f Croesus show a m o re natural istic rendering of the two ani m als (Naste r 1965: 30; imc huk 2000) . The reverse
was struck with two incu se squ ares, one a little bigger than the ot he r, th e bigge r
always pos it io ned underneath the lion. Smaller fractions have just one illcuse
sq uare ; in recent years a great many o f the se have su rfaced, in both metals . attesting that it was not a coi n age issued fo r making la rge paymen ts o nly (Walburg

50

A R CHAIC AN D CL ASS ICA L GREEK CO I NAGE

199 1: 15- 18). We are now con fi den t tha t the lion-bu ll co in age belongs in d eed to
C roesus, at le ast in its init ial phase, th anks to three lion-bu ll fractions (one gold
twe lfth and two silver: Ili2 and 1/24) unearthed recent ly during excava t ions at
Sardis in pre-540s leve ls (Cahill and Kroll 2005). Fu rt hermore , the discovery at
Sard is o f a large workshop for refini ng electru m into ingo ls of pure gold and
p ure silver, d ated indepen d en tl y by th e d igge rs to a round 560-550, helps us to
u nde rs tand how the precio us metal for coinage was obta ined (Ramage and
C rad dock 2000: 81-96). An alyses of the gold fragme nts fo u nd in th is works hop
and of the go ld used for coi ns att ribu ted to Croes us produced si mi lar results
(Co well an d Hyne 2000). No doubt p ar t of the gold and silve r p ur ified in tha I
wo r kshop was used under Croesus to st rike coins.
C roesus th us established the first known example of b ime tall ism, commonly
defined as a monetary system in which the sta te fixes t he exch ange ra te be tween
gold and silver. The gold st at ers were reduced from 14. 15 g of electr um \0 10,8 g of
gold , coins refe rred to in an cient so u rces as kroiseioi sttlteres (Le Rider 2001: 102)
an d today as Crocseids (fig. 3, )6). Not long aftcr their in troduct io n, gol d Croescids
an d their fr actio ns ca m e to be struck on a ligh ter stan d ard of 8.L g, some specim ens be ing str uc k with d ies and pu n ches used for the produ ction of heavy staters,
which have survived in fewe r exa mples t h an those on the light stan d ard. St aters in
p u re silve r of 10,8 g we re also issued togethe r with a wide range of smaller d enom inat ions (1/3,1/6, 1/12, 1/24,1/48). The weigh ts of the new coins are belie ved to have
been design ed to fac ilita te the excha nge of o ld elect rum co ins for new gold on es.
By the ra tio bet ween gold and silver prevailing in th at pe ri od ( L:13.3), a stater of
14.15 g o f elec rrum would have bee n equiva lent to a stater of 10.8 g of go ld . Kro ll
has sugges ted that the Lydian s tate first use d this heavy stand ard to recall old eIeetrum coins at a 1:1 bullio n ra tio between pu re gol d and eleetr um ,It its na tu ral
int rinsic val u e (70- 80% go ld, which was p robably the face val ue of electru l11
coins; Cahill an d Kroll 2005). La ter, when en oug h elect r u m was redeemed fro m
pr iva te owne rsh ip, th e Lydi an treasu ry issued t he lig ht gold stater at 8.1 g, a weigh t
that corresponded to the go ld conten t o f Lyd ian elecLrum coins, which typicall y
contained aro u nd 54% gold and around 44% sil ver. Accordingly a 14,15 g eJec tr u m
st ater conta ined around 7.6 g of gold and around 6.2 g of silver, the la tter bei ng
eq uivalent to 0,46 g of gold, which would amoun t to the to tal intrinsic val ue o f a

ligh t go ld Croeseid.
Croesus was p artic u la rly munificent toward sanctu aries and sent gene rous
o fferings to the o racles of Apollo at Miletus and Delp hi in Greece. Among the lavish
gift s repor ted in He rodotus (1.50) on e, made to the o racle at De lph i, attests th at the
use of electr u m as b u llio n had not been co mpletely aba ndoned. It was a pro d igious
amount, as Croesus p resented a total of 117 brick-sha ped ingots o f equa l size (presumably all cas t in t he same mold), fou r of them of "refined" (pure) go ld , each
weighing two and a half ta len ts, an d the rest o f whi te gold (electrum), eac h weig h in g two talen ts. From t hat informatio n, we can calc ulate that these wh ite gold ingots
consisted o f abou t 72% go ld, a p ropor ti o n correspond ing to that found in allu vial
(natural) electrulll. One can o n ly be amaz.ed by Croesus's largesse toward Delphi,

ASI A MINOR TO THE ION IAN REVOLT

51

for wha t he sent weighed about four and a half tons of pure go ld. In the same vain,
Herodotus reported that , pleased by an auspicious oracle, Croesus presented e<l ch
citizen o f Delph i w iLh two gold staters (1.54).

TH E GR E AT KING'S ARC HER S"

. ......... ........... ..... ....... .. ... . ...................... .................. ................. .. .... ............... .

After the demise of the kingdom of Lyd ia in 546. th e coinage o f the Persian kings
became one o f the most important cu rrenc ies of western Asia Minor. However, the
death of Croesus did not mean the end of Lydian coinage. Indeed, Cyrus adop ted
for hi s purposes the bimetall ic system in troduced by Croesus and conti n ued at
Sardis to st rike gold and silve r issues on the Croeseid model. Co in ho ard s indica te
clearly that the issues of Lydian type continued until arou nd 520 (Ca rr ad ice 1989a;
Rob inson 1960). Persian auth orities cont inued to strike gold staters on the light
standard of 8.1 g, an d silver u n its weigh ed ha lf of thei r former weight at 5,4 g. T he
Persian issues are ch aracterized by a mo re dynamic style. with a vivid sense of moveme n t th at can some times result in a relatively schematic rende ring of the two animals. As we have seen. on earlier (Lydian) issues. the confronted li on and the bu ll
foreparts were dep icted in a m ore naturalistic and neat ma n ner. Coill hoards show
that th e issues attributed to Croesus did not ci rcula te with those str uck by the
Persians. The foundation deposit boxes of the apadana at Persepo lis incl uded eight
light gold Croeseids toge ther with silver coins of Aegina, Abdera, and Cy pr us
(Meadows 2003). Dating the construc tion o f the apadana has p roved m ore problemat ic that had been assumed. and it would be wiser, until mo re con clu sive evidence is found . not to use the found ation d eposi t co ins for d ating the end of the
Croeseid issues (and the introductio n o f the Persian-type coinage by Darius).
Da rius I (521-486) reformed the Lydian system adopted by his p redecessors by
introd ucin g new Persian types and weights. whi le maintai ni ng bimeta lli sm. T he
name of the pure gold co in called by Greek au thors th e daric. or more usu ally d ari c
stater, no doubt derives from the name of D arius, who is also know n to have
refo fmed the tribu te sys tem of the empire. The weight of the d ari c, around 8.4 g.
was sli ght ly h igher than the standard used previously (8. 1 g) and was thus brough t
into relation with the old Mesopotamian shekel m easure (1 mina: c. 504 g; onesix tieth mina: 8.4 g). On the oLhe r hand. the weigh t of the uni t o f silver. known as a
siglos or siklos in Greek. after the Semitic unit of we ight t he sheqel, rem<lined at
5-4 g. The types changed, however. with the obverse depicti ng the figu re of the royal
he ro. a conve nt ion al representation of the ki ng as an arche r wea ring crown. and the
reverse an ob long punch mark. Unde r Darius, the ratio of val ue between gold and
silver in the new Achaeme ni d imperial system was l: l),and the o ffi cial exchange ra te
between the da ric and the siglos was se t at I:Z0.
The oldest type (Type I, fig. ).18) is know n so far in sigloi only and starled
arou nd 520. T he Persian hero-king is d epicted frol11 the waist upward; he holds a

52

ARCHAIC AND C LASSICAL GREEK COIN AGE

bow in the left hand and two or three ar rows in the othe r. The depiction of onl y the
upper part of the fi gure recalls the foreparts of ;lIl imals used on previous issues, bu t
this des ign may have rather reflec ted the king in state processio n o r ceremonial in
his char iot (Root 1989: 47). There are no known examples of frac ti ons of the siglos
for this first type , which is the rares t of <111 Persian sil ve r issues. So far as we can
ascert ain, one or two decades after the introduct ion of these sigloi-around
51O- so5- the royal figure began to be depicted with his right knee on the ground
and drawing an arrow (fig. 3.19). This new depiction has been labeled Type 11. The
majority of recorded specimens are sigloi and thei r frac tions, bu t there are also
some rare darks, the fir st Persian-type gold coins, and fractions of the dark. Unt il
recen tly, sil ver fractions of Type II were rare, bu t many have surfaced over the pas t
few years. A precious terminus mHe (/ IWUJ is than kfully provided by a clay table t
discovered in Persepolis, which is precisely dated to SOD (th e twenty-second yea r of
reign of Darius ) and was stamped with a Type II co in used as a seal (Root 1988).
;\ sho rt while later, arou nd 490- 480, perhaps on the accession of Xerxes (485-460 ).
th e royal figur e was given. in addition to his bow, a long spear, which he held
ob liqu ely in his right hand-this is known as Type HI. One can distinguish two
subgroups: the first and earliest is ch arac terized by two sm all pellets behind the
beard of the figure (fig. 3.20). The following subgrou p (Type IlIb ) o mi ts the pell ets,
and has its weight increased from 5A g to 5.55 g. The change probably took place
after the seco nd Persian wars, toward 475 or a little later.
Whe n stu dying the coi nage of the Persian kings, it is importan t not to simp ly
regard it as the currency of thei r whole empi re. In fact, co in finds clearly show th at
sigloi mainly ci rcula ted in a very sm all part of the emp ire: western Asia Min or. It
W<lS a regional coinage, struck at Sardis but pe rhaps also, later on, at other administrative cen ters like Dascyl iul1l , and was only intended for the coastal provin ces of
Asia Minor. The circula ti o n patt ern of darics, however, was wider, and hoards have
been found no t only in wes tern Asia Min or but also in Greece. Macedonia. and Italy.
The re is little doubt that most of the available silver and, to a lesse r extent , the gold
that circulated in the empire was nOI m inted. The few metal analyses of Persian
coins that are ava ilable 10 us do not allow any de tail ed concl usions to be drawn. Th e
following obser vation s are however worth m aking. Dar ics were struck in ext reme ly
pure go ld, the reco rded perce ntages fa ll ing only very rare ly below 98%, wit h the
majorit y of the speci mens analyzed reaching 99%; Herod ot us (4.166) menti ons t he
exception;11 purity of Darius's gold coin s. This level of purity is not, however,
achie ved in th e si lver sigloi, wh ose metal is no rma ll y around 97- 98% pure silver,
with some speci mens going as low as 94--95%.
Toxotai (a rch ers), as the Gre eks called darics, were thu s emp loyed primari ly in
transactions between Persi an aut horities and the western popul ati ons that had
lo ng been fa mi lia r with coinage. Their fu nd amental pu rpose may have been to pay
fo r mercenary sold iers. Darics were also a very effective in strument of fore ign po l~
icy, buying support for Persian interests among key pol iticians o n the Grl'ek main
land. Since the striking of small silver co ins in th e coastal cities of Asi a Mino r
developed during this pe ri od of Persian rule, it would seem th at the Persia ns le ft

ASI A MINOR TO THE IONIAN REVOLT

53

the production of the sma ll change to vassal Greek cit ies, which were allowed to
lise their ow n civic types on their coinage.

THE SPREAD OF SILVER COINAGE

... .. ..... .. ... .... ... .. .. ... .. .......... .... .................. .......... .. .... .. .... .. ...............................

In t he ye ars following the Persian conquest, many of the major city -states o f western
Asia Mi no r started to produce their own civic silver coinage. Most had already taken
part in the fi rst wave of elect rum m inting, and the passage to si lver waS only a natural
deve lopment, which quickl y sp read to o th er non-electrum-min ting ci ties. Owing to
its lower val ue and wider accep tance. silver made way for coins to be ever more commonly used in a wi de ra nge of transact ions. Hoard evidence suggests that ullmmted
sliver continued to be exchanged in areas th at produced coinage. Gold was not struck,
and the dolfic remained the o nly gold currency un til the second half of the fifth
century. Besides Greek, inscri ptions in Cari an and Lycian began to appear on coins,
and the hab ir of indicaring ethnics slowly sp read bu t d id not become a common
practice un til t'he first half of the fi fth centu ry. Among the earliest min ts to issue silver we re first and foremost the fonian cities of Ephesus (Karw iese 1995), C lazomena e
(Dengate 1967), Erythrae (T~lk 2003), Teas (Balcer 1968; Matzke 2002). Ph ocaea (Calm
1998), Miletus (Pfeiler 1966; Beckel' 1988), Colophon (Kim :llld Kroll 2008), Chios
(Hardwick 1991), and Samos (Ba rron 1966). although we lack secure chronological
pegs in most cases for dating precisely the beginning and sequence of these coin ages.
The Lydo-MiIesian. Phocaic, and Sami an weigh t standa rds continued to be used fo r
silver, in addition to which the Aeginetan stan dard (c. 12.4 g) was some tim es ado pted
by mints of Ionia and Caria. Some min ts str uck units (staters) or large denominatio ns together with fractions, whereas othe rs like Miletus or Co lopho n confined
themselves to small denominations. A hoard of Co lophonian fractions (12 ths and
24ths) and u nmin ted silver testifies to the conside rable quantities th at could be
minted, albe it of minute size. A stagge ring total of 393 obverse and 413 reverse dies
have been identified for the 903 fract ions of the hoard (Kim and Kroll 2008: 54).
A single hoard can radi cally cha nge o ur understanding of a m int, but also it can help
us to reassess the role of sm all change in late archaic communil ies (Kim 2002). A fa r
greater amou n t of fractjonal coinage was issued than previously tho ught, and one
shou ld be in no doubt tha t a moneyed economy was be ing established as early as the
late sixth centu ry. Numerous finds of small denominations of Teos that have appeared
o ver the past de cade or two illust rate th at Colo ph on was no t an isolated case in th e
massive p roductio n of sma ll cha nge . Besides silver, however. three min ts co ntinu ed
to issue a regular electrum co inage: Phocaea, Mytilene, and Cyzicus. All three struck
on the Ph ocaic stand ard: all min ted six ths in quan tity, but Cyzicus also minted
sta te rs. This was to be a lo ng-standing trad it ion that would only cease wi th the arr ival
o f Alexan der the Great. Another noteworthy fe ature o f tbe coin age of Lesbos, probably minted at Mytilene. wa s a production of base silver sta ters and fractions. whe reas

54

AR C HA IC AN D C I.ASSI C AL GREEK CO IN AGE

co ntempo rary co ins of Asia Minor were i_nvariab ly made of silver of the highest
pur ity. However, a group of lead pieces frolll the island of Samos have reve rses with
two pa rall el rec tangular inc use that rem ind one of the electrum sta ters str uck ea rl ier
on the isla nd , but their types do not find any parall el on its regular coinage (Robinson
1958: 591-592; Kraay 1976: 29- 30). The ela bo rate des igns suggesl tha t these sho uld be
dated somewhat later th at the first phase of the ci ty's electrum coinage. Five types
we re known until the recent discovery of a hoard from the Mycale region, which has
revealed a number of new types (Chimaera, sile n head, dog,lotus fl owers) along with
lead pieces beari ng the emblem of Miletus (recl ining lion with head rever ted). The
lead pieces of Samos have been brought into connection with an anecdote, incredulously retailed by Herodo tu s (J.56.2), that Po lycrates, the tyrant of Samos, persu aded
the Spartans to lift thei r siege of the island in 5251524 by brib ing them wi th a payment
of state rs in gilded lead. 0 trace of gi lding ca n be detected on any of the extan t
specim ens. and He rodo tus' s!O ry. whose veracity he doubted himself. might der ive
from an earlie r occasio n invo lving the product ion of a lead !Oken coi nage.
Further south, in Caria, a board was reportedly found south of lasos in the mid 1980s. It included over 600 fragments of jewelery and othe r scrap silver toge ther with
nea rly 280 silver Croeseids and over a hund red silver issues from Caria of the lion
forepart type from staters down to 48ths (Cl-I 8: 9~IO; Kroll 2008: 24; Carradice and
Price 1988: 31; Price 1989: 10). This find shows that Caria started to mint sil ver at an
early period, arou nd 540-5 20; the Ca rian issues probably belong to Mylasa (Ko nuk
2000: 172. 2007: 472-473), wh ich appears to have also m in ted a small series of la te
electrum co ins that co uld be placed in the context of the Ionian revolt (Konuk 2003:
89). A furth er lion forepart type ser ies on the Aegi netan standard was struck in Cari a
in around 500 and bears what is poss ibly the ea rl iest Caria n legend on i.I coin: {Jul
(Konuk 2007: 489 ). Not far from Mylasa, Kindya has been identified as the Illint of a
prolific se ries of silver coins weighing around 2.2 g with a head of a ketos (sea monster )
on th e obverse and an incuse geometric pattern on the reve rse (Kagan and Kritt 1995),
but an alternative attribution can be made to the Carian Telmessus (fig. 3.21; Konuk
2003: 94; SNG Ka)'lwn, 810 ). Cnidus (Cah n 1970) initiated its coinage in the last qua rter of the sixth century along with their neighbors from th e Loryma peninsula, the
Chersonesians. tho ugh their coinage might be of a slight ly later date. The island of
Rhodes with Cam irus and Lindus (Cahn 1957) issued early silver coins and some electrum co ins tha t are probab ly contemporary, al though some have suggested that they
might be of later date (fig. 3.22). In Lycia, large amou nts of siJver coins were issued,
and th eir obverse lIsualJ y depicted a wild boar, sometimes winged, and vario us incuse
sha pes on their reverse (fig. 3.23; Vismara 1989). The Rhodian colony of Phaselis was
among th e first to iss ue a coinage in Lycia, and with its strong maritime tradition, it
chose the prow of a warsh ip on the obverse of its coi nage, blll as a Lycian ci ty it made
it resemble the fo repa rt of a boar (Hei pp-Tame r 1993). There is also an early series of
Aegi netan-weight staters with various obverse types (dolp hins, crab, sp hinx, and a
female head) th at has been tentative ly attributed to Lycia (S heedy 1998).
Within a fe w years of the fall of Sa rdis, the whole of Ionia was incorporated into
the Persian Empi re. As was the case under the Lydians. IOllians had to pay an an nual

C..>pyr

1:1

Tl

ASI A MINOR TO THE IO NIAN RE VOLT

55

tribute to the Great King, but the ci ti es were left to ma nage their own affa irs, and most
of the m were ruled by Greek tyrants approved and suppo rted by the Persians.
Howe ver, in 499 the Ionia n cities revolted against tb eir Persia n overlords, expelled
their pro-Persian tyran ts, and man aged in some cases to establish democracies; thi s is
known as the Io nian re voll. Arist agoras , the tyrant of Mile lu s, resigned fro m his own
positi on and led a coaliti on against Artaphernes, the Persian governor of Sardis. The
coalition marched on, captu red, and bu rnt Sardis in 498, but it was defeated at the
ba ttle of Ephesus. In 49 4. the Persians finally managed to capture and des troy M iletus
and reduced th e cities along the west coast that still heJd ou t aga inst them. A series of
rare elect rum coins, showing a va riety of obverse types but wi th a uni fo rm fabric and
square incuse in the reverse, has been associated with the Ionian revolt , though decisive proo f of the connection is still lacking (Kraay 1976: 30; Carradice and Price 1988:
33). These co ins are staters and frac tions on the old Lydo-Milesian standard used fo r
the ea rlier elec trum coi nage. So me of the obverse types have been attribu ted to specific min ts such as Lampsacus (w inged horse), Abydus (n (cock), Kyme (?) (horse,
fig ..').24), Clazomenae (winged boa r), Samos (b ull fo repa rt ), and Priene (?) (Athena
head ).l t is rather puzzlin g tha t no type can be attributed to Ephesus, or to Mile tus,
the leading city of the revah, which has been proposed as possible mint for th e entire
series. Clazome nae has also bee n suggested as central mLnt on account of punch sha rLng between wLnged boa r sta terS an d regular silver issues of the city (Dengate 1968).
In add itio n. most of the types we re rep rese nted in a hoa rd found in Vourla (Urla,
IGCI-I1l 67), the site of Clazo menae. The com mon features of th is coinage, howeve r,
may not be sufficient in themselves to warrant a centralized mint. and there are later
examples of all iance co inages struck by individual m ints. In any case, the absence of
punch sharing be tween state rs of diffe rentlypes wou ld support coordi nated but separate minting. A further noteworthy civic coinage in th;.lt con text is th at of Milet us,
whose extensive si lver issues are the most important of arch aic Asia Mino r (Pfei ler
1966; Becker 1988 ). These were twelfth stat ers (obols, 1.2 g) on the Lydo-Milesian standard. which are today ex tan t in thousands of specime ns (fig. 3.25); a few in electrum
are also kn own (SNG Ka)'JulIl, 482). They were mi nted fo r a decade or two before the
dest ruction of Miletus in 494. and it is possi ble that the bulk of this coi nage was produced dur ing the troubled period of th e Ioni an revolt. Hoard evidence sugges ts that
a small er prod uction resumed sometime after the destructi on of the ci ty.
T am very grateful 10 Professo r John Kro ll for his useful suggesti ons and to
Dr. Michae l Ke rsc hner, seco nd substi tute head of th e Ep hes us exca vation, for providing valu able informatio n on the latest research at the Artemisi ull1.

K EY TO ILLUST RATION S
. ......... .. ..... ....... ............... ...... ....... ......... .. .......... .... ... .. ......... ........... ........ .. ... .. .

Fig.3. 1. Uncerta in mint of Io nia, c. 650- 600, El Lyd o ~ Miles i an stater ( 14.32 g). Obv.
Stria ted su rface. Rev. Oblong inc use be tween two roughly sq uare incuses. Tri ton IX
(2006 ),93It

56

ARCHAI C AND C tASSI C AL GREEK CO INAG E

Fig. 3.2. Unce rtain mint of Ionia, c. 650-600, EL Lydo-Milesian th ird stater ( 4.79 g). Ohv.
Forepart of a li on righ t in linear s tyle. Rev. Two squa re incuses. Muhanem Kayhan
coil. , MK1)80.
Fig. 3.3. Uncertain mint of Ionia , c. 650-600, EL Lydo -Milesia n third stater (4.72 g). Obv.
Co nfro nted fo reparts of two goats. Rev. Two sq uare incuses. Muharrem Karhan co lI.,
MK161 5
Fig.34 Un certain mint of Ionia. c. 650- 600, EL Lydo-M ilesian stater (14.31 g ). Ohv.
Forepart of bridled horse right. Rev_ Rectangular incuse between two square incuses.
SNG Kttyhan, 714; Ka nuk 2003: 36.
Fig. 3.5. Unce rtain mint o f Io nia. c. 650--600, EL Lydo-Milesian half stater (7.19 g). Obv.
Striated surface o n which are the co nfronted heads of lion and man. Rev. Oblong
incuse between two square incuses. Trit on VIII (2005 ).444.
Fig. 3.6. Samos, c. 600- 550. EL Samian half stater (8.64 g). Obv. Typeless ro ugh surface
with irregular markings. Rev. Square and rec tangular in cuses. SNG Knyluln, 628_
Fig. 3.7. Ephesus. c. 600-550, EL Lydo -M ilesian th ird stater (4-48 g). Ohv. Bee within
rectangular fram e. Rev. Two squa re incuses. SNG Kaylul11, 112; Konllk 2003: 26.
Fig. J.8. Mile tus, c. 600-550. EL Lydo - Milesian slater (14.05 g). Obv. Lio n redin ing le ft;
its head t urned ba ck; all within rectangular frame divided into s maller rectangular
and square comparlme nts. Rev. Cen tral obl ong in cuse co ntaining a running fox, two
dividing li.n~s and two pdlets; squ are incuse to right con tai n ing fiv~ pdlets co nneelt'd by lin es; sq ua re in cuse to left co nta ining a stag's h~ad. CNG Trilon VIII
(200 5),419.
Fig. J.9. Pb ocaea, c. 600-550, EL Ph oca ic standard s ta te r (16.46 g). Ohv. Seal swimmiJlg
left . an octopus damped in its mo uth, letter pili at the base o f the tail; around , three
inclls~ squares in positive. Rev. Two squar~ incus~s, th ~ right one smalle r. The New
York Sale XIV ( 2007), 110.
Fig. 3.10. Cyzicus. c. 600-550. EL Phocaic standard s ta t ~r (16. 22 g). Ohv. Gam~cock
standing righi , holding a tuna head in its b~ak. Obv. Two squa re incuses. Ihe right o ne
small er. Herlin MUnzkahinett (Lohbecke co l\. ).
Fig. J. I1 . Ephesus?, c. 600, EL Lydo-Milesian stater (14.14 g). Obv. Stag grazing right; on its
back, plwflos cmi u lna. Rev. Recta ngular incuse between two square incuses, all
striated . Gorny & Mosch, Giessene r MUm:handlung 185 (20 10), 146.
Fig. 3.12. Sard is, c. 650-600. EL Lyd o-Milesian third slater (2 .36 g). Obv. Con fronted heads
o f two roa ring lions, between them. walwel. Rev_ Two square incuses. SNG Kayhan,
1012; Konuk 2003: 33Fig. 3.13. Sa rdis, c. 600- 560, EL Lyd o- M ilesian sixth stater (4.74 g). Obv. Head of roaring
lion left , su n with multiple rays o n forehead . Rev_ Two square in cuses. eNG.
Fig. 3.14. Uncertain mint o f Ionia, c. 650-600, EL Lydo-Milesian 192nd stater (0.08 g). Obv.
Globule (eye?). Rev. Rough in cuse. SNG Kt1yllan. 691; Konuk 2003: J3.
Fig. ) .15_ SaId is? Croesus? c. 560, EL Lydo- M ilesian stater (13.9J g). Obv. Joined for~parts
o f lion and bull . Rev. Rectangular incuse b etween two square incuses. Oxford,
Ashmolean Museum ( Loan coiL).
Fig. 3.16. Sardis, Croesus (561- 546 ). AV h eavy C roeseid (10.77 g). Obv. Confronted fore parts of li on an d bull. R~v. Two square in cuses. CNG.
Fig. 3.17. Sardis, Achae menid period, c. 530 BC AV light stater (8.09 g). Obv. Con fro nted
foreparts of lion an d bull. Rev. Two square incu ses. e NG Triton XII (2009 ), 320.
Fig. 3.1 8. Sardis, Da rius I (521-485), c. 520- 510,AR siglos (5. 18 g). Obv. Up per part of
Pnsian hero king right holding a how in his left hand and arrows in the o the r. Rev.
Square incuse. Muharrem Kayhan coLI.. MK IJ74; Konuk 2003: 54.

ASIA MI NOR TO T H P. IONI AN REV O I.T

57

Fig. ).19. Sard is, D~r i us I (521- 485), c. 500, AV dark (8.36 g). Obv. Persi ~n hero-king right,
in knuling- ru nning positio n, drawing bow. Rev. Square jncuse . Seen in trade.
Fig. ).20. Sa rdis, Xrrxes I ( 48;- 46S).A R sigl os (5.28 g). Obv. Persian hero-king righ!. Rev.
Sq uare. in cuse. Mu harrem Kayhan call., M K1376; Konuk 200): 55.
Fig321 . Kindya or Tdmessus in Ca ria , c. 51 0, AR ( 2.22 g). Obv. Head o f k~to s (seam onsler) right, wilh ga ping m o uth . Rev.lncuse geometric pallern. SNG Kay/uUl , 814.
Fig. ).22. Ca m irus, c. 500, EL Lydo- Milesia n 24th (0. 48 g ). Obv. Head o f griffin right.
Rev. Two recta ngular inc uses with the le tters ka. Muharrem Kayhan colleclio l1,
MK1 562.
Fig. 3.1). Un certain min t o f Lycia, c. 510 BC , AR Lyci;m stater ( 9.16 g). O bv. Forep .. rt of
boar left. Rev. Rectangul .. r jncuse. SNG KayJlflll , 1044.
Fig. 3. 2.4. KYIllC?, c. 500 BC, EL Lydo-Mi lesian staler (14.06 g). Obv. Horse prancing left;
pelle t above and fl oral mo tif below; all wit hin linear circle . Rev. Quadripa rt ite sq uare
ineuse. SNG Knyhml, 735; Konuk 2 00): 45.
Fig. ).15. Mile tus, c. 520- 490,A R Lyd a- Milesian o bo l (1.1) g). Obv. Forepart a fli on left
with its head turned b:lck. Rev. Starl ike fl o ral design in square inc li se; one side o f the
incuse in the shape o f the le tter M. SNG Ka)llran, 468. Ko nuk 2003: 69.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
.................................... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . ..... .. ... ............................ .. ..... .. ... . ... .

Ad iego, I. J. (2007). TIl l! Carian Language:. Leiden.

Ashto n. R.o and S. Hurt('r, eds. (1998 ). Studies in Greek Numisltltltics in Mem or)-a[Marrin
Jessop Price. Lo ndo n.
Balcer, J. M. ( 1968). "The E.ul y Silver Co inage o f Teos." SNR 1968: 5- 50.
Balmuth, M. S., ed. ( lOOI ). Hacksj/ber to Coinage: NelV Insights ;ltto the M onetArY His/Dry of
tile Nf.'tlr East a nd Grecce. New Yo rk.
Samm er. A. (1 990 ). "A Periptefos o f lhe Geo me tric Perio d in the A rtl!mis iUIll of Ephesus."
Amlt. St. 40: 137-160 .
- - - . (1991). " Les sunctuai res des Ville et VII I.' sii:d es a l'Artcmisio n d'Ephhe." RA \: 6)-8).
Barron, J. P. (1966). TIle Sih'", COtUS of SamCJS. London .
Becke r, F. (1988). "Ein Fund vo n 75 mih"sischc:n Obolen." SNR 67: 5- )).
Bell inger, A. R. ( 1968). "Elect r um Co ins from Go rd ia n." In Kr::aay and Jenkin s: 10-1S.
Brandt , S., V. Gassne r, and S. Ladsta tier, eds. ( 2005 ). Synergia. Fcstsdlriftliir Friedrich
Kr jtlzillgcr 1. Vienna.
Brooke, C. N. L.. 8 . H. I. H. Stew.. r t, J. G. Po llard and T. R. Vo lk, eds. (198). Studies;1I
Num;smCitic Method Prc5t:nlf!d to Philip Grierson. Camb ridge.
Ca hill . N., and J. H. Kroll (2005). "New Archaic Coin Fin ds from Sardis .... AlA 109: 589-617.
Cahll, H . A. (1957). "Die a rchaischen Silbe rstntere von Lindos." ln Scha uenburg.: 18-26 .
. ( 1970). Knidos, Die Munun (Ies sechsletl uml des fii nft~1J laJlrJllmd~rts ... C llr.
Berlin .
- - - . (1998). " Ion ische Damen." In As hton and Hurter: 59-63.
Carradice, I. ( 1989" ), "T he ' Regal ' Co inage o f t he Persian Empire." In Ca rrad ice 1989b: 73-95.
- - -, ed . (1989b ). Co iNage (Iml Admiuistratioll;n the Atlum;lIn and Persia" Empires.
Oxford.
- - - . (1998). "Two Ach aemen id Hoards." N C 158: 1-23Carmd ice, I., and M . Price. (1988). Coinage in the Greek W orld. Lon don .

58

AR C HAI C AND C L ASSICAl. G R EEK CO IN AG E

Ca rtil!dgl! , P., E. E. Co hw, and L. Foxhall, I!ds. (2002 ). M oney, Labou r and Land: App roaches
to tlte Ecollomics of Ancicnt Greece. Londo n.
Casabo nne,
ed. ( 2000 ). M ccanismes ('I innovat ions m oneta ircs dan s /'Ana to fi(, achcm cnide. N umislf1(1tiqlll! l!f hisloin.'. Istanbul.
COWI!Il, M. R. I!t al. (1998 ). "Analyses o f th l! Lyd ian El ectr um . G old and Silvl!r Coi na gl!s." In
Oddy and Co well : 526-538.
Cowell . M. R. a nd K. Hym. ( 2000). "Scien tific Exam Lnatio n of thl! Lyd ia n Prl!ci o us Metal
Co imlges." In Ramagl! a nd C rad dock: 169-174.
Crad dock, P. T. (2000) . "Assaying in An tiqu ity." Ramage a n d Craddock: 245- 250 .
Denga te, J. A. (1967). "The Coinage of Kl azo m mai." Ph. D. d iss., University of Pen nsylvan ia.
- - - . (1968). "A M in t for t he Io n ian Revolt." A/A 72(2) : 164.
rur twa ngler. A. (1986 ). " Neue Beoba chtungen zu r fr uheste n Munzpragung." SNR 65:
15J- 16 5
Hardwi ck. N . M. M . (1991). "T h e Co inage of Ch ios from t he Sixth to th e Fo ur th Ct' nt ury
B.C." Ph.D. d iss., Un iversity of Oxfo rd.
Ha rris. W. V., e d. ( 2008). Th e M onctary Systems of th e Greeks and Romtll1s. Oxfo rd.
H eipp-Ta mer, C. (1993). Die M iinzpraglmg der ly kischen Stad t Phaselis in gricchisclwr Zeil.
Saa rb rii cken.
[ ~ Ik. E. (2003 ). Friihe SiflJerpriigungel1 it l Sladlen Westkleina siellS. Saa rbriickt'n.
Kaga n. 1-. and B. Kr itt. (1995). "Thl! Co inagl! of Kindya." N C 155: 261- 265.
Karw iese, S. (1991 ). "The Arlemisium Co in H oard and the First Co ins of Ephesus." RBN
137: 1- 28.
- - - . (1995). Die M ihlzpragung von Ephesos. 1, D ie An/aflgc: D ie a/It's /en Pragllngm IIna
del' Bl!ginn der M iillzpr{igung iilJel'halipt. V ien na.
- - - . ( 2008). " Das Artl!mis io n vo n Ephesos und dil! ' Er-Fin d ung' dl!r Miinze." [n Muss:
133- 14 8 .
Ke rschnl!r. M. (1997). "Ein st ra tifizie rtl!r O pferko mpll!x des 7. lhs. v. Chr. aus dem
Arlem ision vo n Ep hesos." l O A! 66: 85- 226.
Keyse r, P. T., and D. D, C lark. ( 200 1). "Analyzing a nd Inter preting the Me ta llurgy of Early
Electrulll Co in s." In Ba lm ut h: 105-126.
Kim. H. S. (1002). " Sm a ll Change and the Mo n eyed Econ o m y:' In Cartled ge et al.: 44-51.
Kim, H . S" and J. H , Kroll. (2008). "A Hoard of Archaic Co ins o f Colo p ho n and Unm inted
Silve r (CH I,J)." A l N 20: 53- 103.
Ko nuk, K. (1000 ). " lnfluencl!s et e l ~menlS achemenides dans Ie m o n nayage d e la Ca ri e." In
C;ls,,'lbo nn e: 171- 183.
- - - . (2.003). From Kroisos 10 Karia: Earl), Ana/olia n Coins [rQI/I tile Mllharrem Kay lJan
Co l/ect ion. Istanbul.
- -- . (2005) . "Thl! Elect r um Co inage o f Samos in th l! Light of a Rl!cen t Hoard." In
Sc hwert heim a nd W in ter: 44- 53,
- - - , ( 2007). "Co in Legends in Carian ." In Adiego : 471- 492.
KrM Y. C. M . (1964). " Hoards, Sm a ll Cha nge and the O rigin o f Co inage." }H S 84: 76-91.
- -- . ( 1976 ). Archaic and C fass ical Greek Co ins. Lo nd o n.
Kraay. C . M . a nd G. K.len kins, eds. (1968). Essays in Grl!ck Coinage Prescnh'd to Stanley
Robillson, Oxfo rd,
Kroll, J. H . ( 200 1). " Revil!w of LI! Rid er 2001." SN R 80: 199--206.
- - - , (2008), "T hl! Mo n l!ta ry Use o f Wl!ighed Bull io n in Arch.lic G rel!ce:' In Harris: 12- 37.
Ku rke , L. (1999) . Coins, Bodil's , Games and Gold: T he Polilics of Meaning in Ardwic Greece.
Prin ce to n .
Le Rid er, G. (2001 ). La nai$sance de fa m onnaie. Pm riqut!s m one/aires de l'O rien t (l IIcien. Paris.

a ..

ASIA MINOR TO THE ION IAN REVO I.T

59

Ma tzk~. M. (2002). "Di~ fri.ih~ Munzp riigung von T~os in lonien: Ch ronologisc h ~ und

metrologis,he Unte rsu,h un ge n urn die FrOhzeit cler Silbe rmi.l nzprJgu ng." lNG 50
(2000): 21- 5).
Meadows, A. R. (2003 ). "'The Apadana Fou nda tion Deposit (IGCH 1789)." NC 163: 342- 344M~eks, N. O. ( 2000). " Scann ing Eleclron Microscopy of th ~ Refracto r y Remains an d the
Go ld .md the Go ld from Sardis." Ramage a nd C rad dock: 99- 156.
Muss, U., ed . (2008 ). Die Archii%g;e dcr epllesiscllen A rtemis. Geslalt lind Ritual /'ines
Heiliglllins. Vienna.
Nasler, P. (1965), " Remarques chara cleroscop iques et techno lo g iques a u s uje t des crt-seidl's."
In Congrcsso Internationale d; NIlIn i5llTat im , Rome, 1961: Alii. Rome: 25-36.
- - - . (1976 ). " T he Weight-Sys tem of the Coinage of C ro~sus." In Proceedings of the
lnterrwf;"nal Congress of Numis matics 197J. Par is: 125- 133.
Nkolet- Pierre. H. , a nd I.- N. Barra nd on. (1997). "Mo nnaies d 'electr um archaiq ues. Le
tresor de Samos de 1894 (l Cc/f I158 ) conserve 11 Pa r is:' RN 152: H I-1J5.
Nimchuk, C. L. ( 2000) . " Th~ Lio n and Bull Co inage o f Croesus." Journal of the Class ical
tlnd Meaieval Nutnism,,,;c Society. 2nd ser. L: 5- 44.
Oddy. W. A. a nd M. R. Cowell, eds. (1998 ). Metallurgy in Numisma tics 4. London .
Pfeiler, B. (1966). " D ie Silberpragung von Mile l im 6. Ja hrhunderl v. Chr." SNR 45: 5-26.
Pr ice, M. J. ( 198). " Though ts o n the Beginnings of Co inage." ' n Brooke el al.: 1- 10.
- - - . (1989 ). " Darius I and the Daric." REA 91: 9-1),
Ramage, A . and P. C raddock, eds. ( 2000 ). King Croe~us' Gatti: ExclIi'at ions lit Sa rdis lind tIle
HistOf)' of Gold Refining, Camb ridge, Mass.
Ro binso n, E, S. G. (1951 ). " The Coins from the Ephesian Artemisi o n Reconsid ered ," lHS 71:
15 6- 16 7.
- - - . (1958). "Some E!eclrum and Gold Greek Co ins." In Cen tennial Volume of till!
A mericall Numism atic Society. New Yo rk: 585- 594.
- - - . (1960 ). " Two Gr~~k Coin Hoards," NC 6 th ser., 10: 31-36.
Root, M. C. (1988 ), "Evide nce from Pe rsepolis fo r the Dating of Persia n and Arch,lic Greek
Co inage." NC 148: 1-1:2.
- - - . (1989 ), " T he Persian Archer at P~ rs~ p olis: Aspects o f Chron o logy, Style a nd
Symbolism." REA 91: 33- 50.
Scnaue nburg, K., I'd. (1957). Chariles: Studien wr Allertumwisscnschaft Festschrift fur
E. La"glotz. Bo nn .
Schwenheim, E., and E. Winte r, eds. (2005) . Nelle fo rsclul1lgen ZU /onif'tl. Asia Mino r
Studien 54.
Seafo rd, R. ( 2004 ). M oney a nd the Early Greek Mind. Ca m bridge.
Sheedy, K. A. (1998),"The Do lph ins, the Crab . the Sphi nx, and 'Aphrodite.''' In Ashto n and
Hurter: )21-326.
Spier, J. (1990). "E mblem s in Archaic Greece." BlCS 37: 107- 129.
- - - . (1998 ). " Notes on Early Electrum Coinage and a Di~-Linked Issue fro m Lydia." In
Ashton and Hurler: 3:21- 326.
Stingl, T. (2001 ), " Ba rren oder MUnzen? Oberlegu ngen wm Beginn der Elekt ro npriigung in
Westkleinasien." Boreas 23124: 35- 52.
Thompson, C. M. (200). "S~ a led Silv~ r in Iron Age Cisjord an a nd the ' Inv~n ti on' of
Coinage." OJA 22: 67-10 7.
van Alfen, P. G., ed. (2006 ). Agortlnom;a. St lldies in Mo"ey alld Exchang' Presen f(!(i 10 101m
H. Kroll. New Yo rk.
Vismara , N. ( 1989) . Mondazione arcai((1 della Lycia II. La collczione ~VinSem(\nn Falghaa.
Glaux). Milan.

C:>pyr

Ijl1E

60

ARCHAI C AND CL ASSICAL GREE K CO I NAGE

Walburg, R. (1991). " Lydisch o der persisch? Ein Goldobjekt au s der friihzeit der
Munzp ra gung." SNR 70: 5-17.
Wall>tce, R, W. ( 1987) , " The Origin o f Elect rulll Co inage." AlA 91: 385-397.
- - - . (1 989 ). "On th e Pro duction a nd Exchange of Early Anatol ian Elecl rllm Co inage."
REA 91: 87-94.
- - - . ( 200 1). " Rema rks on th e Villue and Standard s o f Early El ectrum Coi ns." In
Balmuth: 127-1}4.
- - - . (2006 ). " Kukillim, Walwet, and the Artemision Deposit: Problems in Early
Anatolian Elect rum Co inages." In v>tn Al fen : 37- 49.
Weidauer, L ( 1975). Problcme der Friihen Elcktronpriigung. Freiburg.
Weissl, M. (2002.). "Grundzuge de r Ba u- u nd Schichtenfolge im Artemisio n von Ephesos:'

OJI! 71: 313- }46.

Weissl, M. (2005). "Zur Da lierung d es ' Fo undat ion- Deposit' a us d em Arte m ision von
Ephesos." In Brandt, Gassne r, and LadsHitler: Y'i3-370.
Williams, D. ( 199 1- 1993). "The Po t HOMd from the Archaic Arlemision o f Ephes us." BIGS
38: 98- 103.