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Name : Croesus stater or Croeseid
What it is : A gold coin
Example of a gold croeseid from the 6th century B.C., with images of a lion and a bull on the front.
Where it is from : Thekingdom of Lydia ( modern western Turkey )
When it was made : Circa 560 to 547 B.C.
touch : Ancient Egyptian ' granary with scribes ' diorama : A miniature workplace found buried in a tomb from the Middle Kingdom
What it severalise us about the past :
In the middle of the sixth century B.C. , KingCroesusof Lydia minted the humankind ’s firstgoldcoin . Known as a stater or Croeseid , the coin represents a key turning item in the history of fiscal systems : the invention of the gilded standard .
Croesus dominate over the kingdom of Lydia , the western one-half of what is now Turkey , from 560 to 546 B.C. Already a wealthy mankind thanks to his control over theprecious metal depositsin the Pactolus River ( now known as the Sart Çayı ) , Croesus expand his power by establishing diplomatic tie-in and craft relationships withEgypt , Greece andBabylon . This trade was facilitated through the invention of coins — small , circular act of cute alloy — which were first issued by Croesus ' father , Alyattes , around 650 B.C.
But Alyattes had been making coins out of electrum , a naturally occur gold - and - flatware alloy that often has bits of other metals in it . Alyattes ' coin were standardized ground on weight , but because the ratio of atomic number 79 to silver in electrum varies , the note value of the coins was irregular .
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Croesus decided to change the varying electrum coins into two disjoined denomination to pass the guesswork on valuation . He prepare up workshops in Sardis , the Washington of Lydia , to refine atomic number 79 and silver from electrum . These first coins were about the size of a dime bag and were standardized at 10.7 Hans C. J. Gram ( about one - third of an ounce ) . There was a consistent exchange rate between atomic number 79 and Ag , making Croesus ' system the world ’s first two - alloy pecuniary system and the other gold monetary standard .
The Au and ash gray Croeseids had thesame plan . On one side were the front parts of a lion and a papal bull . The symbolization may reflect a common Near Eastern motive , or each animal may stand for one of the precious metal . On the back of the coin , two squares were forge into the gold staters and one into the silver one . shortly after Croesus invented New coinage , the idea was adoptedthroughout the ancient earth .
Although Croesus lost the kingdom of Lydia to Persia during the Siege of Sardis in 546 B.C. , his name and reputation as a flush valet de chambre live on in the idiomatic expression " as rich as Croesus . "
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