Description
Kingdom of Lydia, Alyattes (c. 610-546 BC)
Electrum Trite, mint of Sardes.
Obverse: Lion’s head with open jaws, facing right; sun and rays on forehead.
Reverse: Two incuse squares, one slightly larger than the other.
Extremely Fine. A strong, well centred strike resulting in a superb example.
(SNG von Aulock 2869; SNG Copenhagen 449-451; SNG Lockett 2977; Weidauer 86).
4.73g.
The earliest coins emerged from Ionia and Lydia around the middle of the 7th Century BC. In the following decades the Kingdom of Lydia was issuing what are commonly known as ‘Lydian Lions’; iconic, chunky electrum trites, or 1/3 staters, depicting the symbolic roaring lion’s head.
