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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Greek Coins| ▸ |Geographic - All Periods| ▸ |Anatolia| ▸ |Lydia||View Options:   | | | Lydia lies in east-central Anatolia (Asia Minor) between Ionia and Phrygia. The kingdom of Lydia gradually rose in power in the 7th Century B.C. and by the time of Alyattes and Croesus, it was controlling most of Anatolia after rebuking Medes (the pre-Achaemenid empire). The most important city was Sardis, today Sart, housing impressive ruins. The Lydians were viewed as a merchant people and the kings as extremely wealthy. Croesus gained mythical status and today we still use the expression, "rich as Croesus." |
| This type was minted in Lydia, Anatolia, while under Persian control, prior to Alexander the Great's conquest. The Persian or Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 - 330 B.C.) was the largest empire in ancient history extending across Asia, Africa and Europe, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace and Macedonia, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and much of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya. |  |
Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 December 192 A.D., Nysa, Lydia
The ruins of ancient Nysa lie a few kilometers beyond the present village of Sultanhisar, Turkey on the south slope of Mt. Messogis. The site is on the Izmir-Denizli highway, not far from Aydin, in the lovely valley of the Büyük Menderes River, formerly the ancient Meander. The city of Nysa was unique in that it was built on both sides of a ravine made by a mountain stream. An amphitheater straddled the stream, and a bridge connected the two parts of the city.SL72897. Bronze AE 22, GRPC Lydia III pl. 205, 141; Regling Nysa 109; BMC Lydia -; SNG Cop -; SNGvA -; SNG Mun -; SNG Tüb -; SNG Hunt-; SNG Leypold -; Imhoof-Blumer LS -, NGC XF, strike 5/5, surface 4/5, weight 7.51 g, maximum diameter 22.5 mm, die axis 0o, Lydia, Nysa (near Sultanhisar, Turkey) mint, as caesar, c. 170 - 176 A.D.; obverse Λ AYPH KOMOΔOC, young, laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse NYCA-EWN, Tyche standing left, kalathos on head, holding rudder by tiller in right, cornucopia in left; ex Heritage Auctions, lot 61053; extremely rare; SOLD
Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander the Great, 336 - 323 B.C., Lifetime Issue
Alexander the Great is arguably the most famous man of antiquity. Born a leader, his genius and charisma led the Macedonian Army across the world creating an empire that covered most of the then-known world, from Greece to India. He was regarded as a god and his fame grew even greater after his premature death at thirty-three. His reign marks the beginning of the Hellenistic Age, a time when almost every aspect of human civilization flourished. His coinage is highly complex, struck in cities all over the ancient map and spanning over two hundred years.GS85696. Silver drachm, Price 2553, Müller Alexander 129, ADM I series IX, 55 ff.; SNG Munchen 626; SNG Saroglos 788; SNG Cop 845; SNG Alpha Bank -, gVF, light marks, minor flan flaw on cheek, reverse slightly off center, weight 4.291 g, maximum diameter 17.6 mm, die axis 0o, Lydia, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, struck under Menander, c. 324 - 323 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus enthroned left on cushioned throne without back, nude to the waist, himation around hips and legs, right foot forward, feet on footstool, eagle in extended right hand, long scepter topped with a lotus vertical behind in left hand, EY monogram left, rose under throne; ex Numismatik Naumann auction 39 (3 Jan 2016), lot 103; SOLD
Persian Empire, Tissaphernes, Satrap of Lydia, 413 - 408 and 400 - 395 B.C., Astyra, Mysia
Important and historical because this type is possibly the first portrayal of a living man on a coin. Tissaphernes was Satrap of Lydia and Karia c. 415 - 404 B.C. and of Lydia c. 400 - 395 B.C. Click here to read about Tissaphernes on Livius.GB86301. Bronze AE 12, Klein 253, Winzer 6.2, gVF, attractive portrait and reverse, nice green patina, tight flan, earthen deposits, slight porosity, weight 1.739 g, maximum diameter 11.4 mm, die axis 180o, Astyra mint, 413 - 408, 400 - 395 B.C.; obverse TIΣΣA (below neck), bare head of Tissaphernes right; reverse AΣTYPH, facing cult-statue of Artemis, wearing kalathos; rare; SOLD
Maionia, Lydia, c. 161 - 217 A.D.
Omphale was queen of the Lydian Kingdom, the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king. After he was gored to death by a bull, she continued to reign on her own. She bought Herakles from Hermes, who sold him after an oracle declared Hercules must be sold into slavery for three years. Hercules had sought the oracle to learn what he must do to purify himself, after he murdered his friend Iphitus and stole the Delphic tripod. As a slave, Herakles was forced to do women's work and even wear women's clothing and hold a basket of wool while Omphale and her maidens did their spinning. Meanwhile, Omphale wore the skin of the Nemean Lion and carried Herakles' olive-wood club. But it was also during his stay in Lydia that Herakles captured the city of the Itones and enslaved them, killed Syleus who forced passersby to hoe his vineyard, and captured the Cercopes. He buried the body of Icarus and took part in the Calydonian Boar Hunt and the Argonautica. After some time, Omphale freed Herakles and took him as her husband. The Greeks did not recognize Omphale as a goddess. Omphale's name, connected with omphalos, a Greek word meaning navel (or axis), may, however, represent a Lydian earth goddess. Herakles' servitude and marriage may represent the servitude of the sun to the axis of the celestial sphere, the spinners being Lydian versions of the Moirae. This myth may have been an attempt to explain why the priests of Herakles wore female clothing.GB88933. Bronze AE 19, SNG Cop 222 (this rev. legend arrangement); Lindgren-Kovacs 749 (same); BMC Lydia p. 129, 17 (same); SNG Mün 302 (same); RPC Online IV 1325, Choice EF, superb depiction of Herakles, well centered on a broad flan, dark patina, a few scratches, weight 4.058 g, maximum diameter 19.0 mm, die axis 0o, Maionia (near Menye, Turkey) mint, c. 161 - 217 A.D.; obverse bearded head of Herakles left; reverse MAIONΩN, Omphale advancing right, draped in Hercules’ lion skin, carrying his club in her left hand over her left shoulder; SOLD
Persian Empire, Lydia, Anatolia, Artaxerxes II - Darius III, c. 375 - 340 B.C.
This coin is published in Greek Coins from the Collection of Jonathan P. Rosen, ANS ACNAC 5, New York, 1983, by Nancy Waggoner, plate 25, no. 675.GA111447. Silver siglos, Rosen Collection pl. 25, 675 (this coin); Carradice Type IV (late) C, 46 ff.; BMC Arabia 172 ff.; SNG Kayhan 1031; Klein 763; SGCV II 4683, VF, off center, mild porosity, encrustation on edge and part of reverse, weight 5.520 g, maximum diameter 16.0 mm, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, c. 375 - 340 B.C.; obverse Kneeling-running figure of the Great King right, bearded, crowned, dagger in right hand, bow in left hand; reverse irregular oblong punch; from the CEB Collection; ex Numismatic Fine Arts winter sale (New York, 12/87), lot 372; ex Rosen Collection; SOLD
Persian Empire, Lydia, Anatolia, Artaxerxes II - Darius III, c. 375 - 340 B.C.
| This type was minted in Lydia, Anatolia, while under Persian control, prior to Alexander the Great's conquest. The Persian or Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 - 330 B.C.) was the largest empire in ancient history extending across Asia, Africa and Europe, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace and Macedonia, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and much of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya. | |
Persian Empire, Lydia, Anatolia, Artaxerxes II - Darius III, c. 375 - 340 B.C.
| This type was minted in Lydia, Anatolia, while under Persian control, prior to Alexander the Great's conquest. The Persian or Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 - 330 B.C.) was the largest empire in ancient history extending across Asia, Africa and Europe, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace and Macedonia, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and much of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya. | |
Drusus and Germanicus, Sardes, Lydia, c. 23 - 26 A.D.
Restruck c. 28-29 A.D., by Asinius Pollio, Proconsul. This coin was originally struck with the reverse legend ΕΠI APΞIΕPΕΩΣ AΛΕΞANΔPOY KΛΕΩNOΣ ΣAPΔIANOY but using an elaborate set of ring-shaped countermark dies the obverse and reverse legends were restruck, the reverse indicating the new magistrate.SH00025. Bronze AE 28, RPC I 2995; SNG Cop 518; SNG Munchen 507; SNG Tubingen 3806; BMC Lydia p. 252, 106; Weber 6905; SNGvA -, VF, weight 11.287 g, maximum diameter 27.6 mm, die axis 0o, Sardes (Sart, Turkey) mint, restruck c. 28 - 29 A.D.; obverse ΔΠOYΣOΣ KAI ΓEPMANIKOΣ KAIΣAPEΣ NEOI ΘEOI ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOI, Drusus and Germanicus, togate, seated left on curule chairs, one holding lituus; reverse ΓAIΩ AΣINNIΩ ΠOΛΛIΩNI ANΘYΠATΩ, overstruck on original legend, oak and laurel wreath enclosing KOINOY AΣIAΣ; SOLD
Persian Empire, Lydia, Darius I, Sep 522 - Oct 486 B.C.
| Darius I the Great ruled the Persian Empire at its peak. He is mentioned in the Biblical books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Haggai, and Zechariah. He continued to allow the Jewish people to return to Israel and provided money for the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, which was completed in his sixth year. Darius invaded Greece to subjugate it and to punish Athens and Eretria for aiding the Ionian Revolt. He subjugated Thrace and forced Macedon to become a client kingdom, but his campaign ended at Marathon, where he was famously defeated by a smaller Greek army. |  |
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