Coins struck at Sardis
4 catalogued coins and notes attributed to Sardis, with weights, legends, dates and Wikimedia-sourced images across Pre-Achaemenid & Median, Achaemenid Empire.
In short
Sardis in western Anatolia was the birthplace of coinage and the principal mint of the Achaemenid daric and siglos, striking Persian royal gold and silver for nearly two centuries after Cyrus took the city in 546 BCE. Sardis is a mint of the Iranian world represented in the Persian Treasury catalogue by 4 coins and notes struck between 560 BCE – 610 CE. Its output here covers Electrum, Gold, Silver in the Stater, Daric, Siglos denominations, issued under King Alyattes, King Croesus (Kroisos), Darius I to Darius III and 1 more.
- Catalogued
- 4
- Eras
- 2
- Metals
- 3
- Denominations
- 3
Key facts
| Catalogued pieces | 4 |
|---|---|
| Date range | 560 BCE – 610 CE |
| Eras represented | Pre-Achaemenid & Median, Achaemenid Empire |
| Metals | Electrum, Gold, Silver |
| Denominations | Stater, Daric, Siglos |
| Issuers | King Alyattes, King Croesus (Kroisos), Darius I to Darius III, Xerxes I – Artaxerxes II |
| Location | Western Anatolia, modern Turkey |
| Persian control from | 546 BCE |
| Products | Daric, siglos, satrapal silver |
| Significance | Site of the world's first coinage |
Where coinage began
As the Lydian capital, Sardis produced the first electrum staters around 630–600 BCE and then, under Croesus, the first true bimetallic gold and silver coinage. When Cyrus the Great captured the city in 546 BCE, the Persians inherited a working mint and an experienced workforce.
Darius I's daric and siglos are the direct successors of the croeseid, struck in the same place with the same technology and a new royal image: the Great King as a kneeling archer with bow and spear.
Attribution
Achaemenid royal coinage is essentially unsigned, so mint attribution rests on find patterns, style and the Carradice type sequence rather than mint marks. The overwhelming concentration of finds in western Anatolia is the main evidence for Sardis as the principal, and possibly the only significant, mint.
Sardis also struck satrapal silver in local Greek styles, and those issues — often naming or portraying a satrap — are a distinct and highly collected sub-field.
Pre-Achaemenid & Median · c. 1000 – 550 BCE
Era overview →Achaemenid Empire · 550 – 330 BCE
Era overview →Frequently asked about Sardis
- Where were darics minted?
- Principally at Sardis in western Anatolia, the former Lydian capital that the Persians captured in 546 BCE and used as their royal mint.
- Why is Sardis important in numismatics?
- The first struck coins — Lydian electrum staters and then the bimetallic croeseids — were made there, and the Persian daric and siglos continued that tradition.
- What coins were struck at Sardis?
- Sardis is a mint of the Iranian world represented in the Persian Treasury catalogue by 4 coins and notes struck between 560 BCE – 610 CE. Its output here covers Electrum, Gold, Silver in the Stater, Daric, Siglos denominations, issued under King Alyattes, King Croesus (Kroisos), Darius I to Darius III and 1 more.
- How many Sardis pieces are catalogued on Persian Treasury?
- 4 items, dated 560 BCE – 610 CE, spread across 2 eras: Pre-Achaemenid & Median, Achaemenid Empire.
- Which metals were used for Sardis coinage?
- Electrum, Gold, Silver. Each entry records the metal, the approximate weight where known, and a cited reference.
- Which denominations are associated with Sardis?
- Stater, Daric, Siglos. Every denomination has its own reference page with dated examples.