What metal and weight is the Lydian Gold Stater of Croesus?

Gold (refined), weighing approximately ~10.7 g.

Pre-Achaemenid & Median

Lydian Gold Stater of Croesus

Croesus, last king of Lydia, replaced the older electrum coinage with the world's first true bimetallic system in pure gold and pure silver — a model the Achaemenid daric/siglos would inherit a generation later.

Key specifications for Lydian Gold Stater of Croesus
Date	c. 561–546 BCE
Ruler / issuer	King Croesus (Kroisos)
Mint	Sardis
Metal	Gold (refined)
Weight	~10.7 g
Era	Pre-Achaemenid & Median (c. 1000 – 550 BCE)
Region	Median Empire, Elam

Obverse

Confronted foreparts of a lion and a bull — the canonical Kroiseid type.

Reverse

Two square incuse punches of unequal size.

Historical context — Pre-Achaemenid & Median

Before struck coinage, value moved as silver bullion (hacksilber), bent bars, and Elamite weight-pieces. Lydian electrum staters reached the Iranian plateau via Anatolian trade in the 7th century BCE.

Read the full Pre-Achaemenid & Median essay →

Frequently asked

What is the Lydian Gold Stater of Croesus?: Croesus, last king of Lydia, replaced the older electrum coinage with the world's first true bimetallic system in pure gold and pure silver — a model the Achaemenid daric/siglos would inherit a generation later. It was struck in c. 561–546 BCE at Sardis under King Croesus (Kroisos).
What metal and weight is it?: Gold (refined), weighing approximately ~10.7 g.
What designs appear on it?: Obverse: Confronted foreparts of a lion and a bull — the canonical Kroiseid type. Reverse: Two square incuse punches of unequal size.

Lydian Electrum Trite ("Lion Stater")

King Alyattes

c. 610–560 BCE

Earliest coins to reach Persian markets; the prototype Achaemenid coinage would later replace.

Pre-monetary Hacksilver

c. 800–600 BCE

Pre-monetary silver weighed against grain standards; recovered from Nush-i Jan and Tepe Hasanlu hoards.

Silver Siglos (Type IIIb)

Xerxes I – Artaxerxes II

c. 485–375 BCE

20 Sigloi = 1 Daric. Hundreds of thousands survive — the most common Achaemenid coin.

Gold Daric (Type IV)

Darius I to Darius III

c. 485–330 BCE

The Greeks called them 'archers' — Agesilaus famously said he was 'driven out of Asia by 10,000 archers'.

Double Daric

Darius III / Alexander era

c. 336–300 BCE

Continuation of Persian types under Macedonian rule for paying mercenaries.

Bahram V Gold Dinar

Bahram V (Bahram Gur)

420–438 CE

Hero of Persian epic — celebrated in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and Nezami's 'Haft Peykar'. Gold dinars are rare; eastern mints (Sind) supplied trade with India.

Source

Commons – Kroisos gold stater (British Museum) →