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<p>[QUOTE="Ryro, post: 4095349, member: 91461"]King Croesus ruler of Lydia:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065670[/ATTACH]</p><p>(Croesus on the Pyre, Louvre)</p><p><br /></p><p>The man had money. His name is synonymous with wealth and riches.</p><p>Almost 2,600 years later we're still saying it. He may have done more for the development of Coinage than any other single individual in history.</p><p><br /></p><p>It wasn't enough wealth to have his name used for the myth of King Midas. Though, certainly he fits the story better than anyone else in ancient history. And probably helped inspire the Midas myth.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065660[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>There is a wonderful story of Croesus meeting an elderly Solon, told by Herodotus. Yep, that Solon whom reformed Athens by rewriting all is laws. After showing Solon his palace and wealth Croesus asks Solon who the happiest man he had met was. Obviously, expecting to hear his own names.</p><p>Solon replied, "There was a man in Athens named Tellus who was able to live until his children had children and he was still able to fight and die in battle. It was a glorious death. All celebrated him."</p><p>Croesus was inflamed. After a few other stories of individuals that Solon felt lived happy lives Solon let a more and more perturbed Croesus in on a secret. Solon explained that he couldn't judge Croesus as happy as long as he was still alive. The Greeks had a belief that luck wasn't a good thing. If someone was lucky surely something bad was going to happy to them to even it out. This ment that the Greeks viewed happiness differently then the Persians and though Croesus felt that he was happy, Solon believed he was going to take a fall. The tale is probably just that. And might never have happened. But it's great moral was obvious. Hubris gets you nothing. And karmas a B.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065661[/ATTACH]</p><p>(Bust of Solon, Copy of Greek original)</p><p><br /></p><p>It wasn't enough gold and silver to defeat Cyrus the great of Persia.</p><p>Croesus famously sought advice from the Oracle at Delphi who had told him that if he went to war against Cyrus he would 'destroy a great empire’ and here the 'great empire’ destroyed had been his own, not that of Cyrus.</p><p>Though, his wealth was enough for him to remain onboard as puppet ruler after going up against one of the greatest, if not the, conquerors that Persia ever produced. Interestingly, though we are told Cyrus was moved to let Croesus live... The date we use for his death is the same date of the battle.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065695[/ATTACH]</p><p>(Relief of Cyrus the great)</p><p><br /></p><p>He had some of the ancient world's most remarkable monuments built.</p><p>Croesus funded the construction of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world... I seem to remember reading a pretty cool article about the place from not too long ago <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-diana-of-ephesus-the-question-of-quality-vs-quantiti.354333/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-diana-of-ephesus-the-question-of-quality-vs-quantiti.354333/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-diana-of-ephesus-the-question-of-quality-vs-quantiti.354333/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>And despite his wealth, no coins from his reign bare his name (though his successors would). And yet, no comprehensive writing on Coinage can be written without his name.</p><p>What did he do that made him so impactful?</p><p>A couple of things. First off, Croesus was the first to use pure silver and gold for his Coinage. Before he came along, for the previous hundred years or less, coins were made from a natural mixture of gold and silver we call electrum.</p><p><br /></p><p>My only bit of electrum is a Lion's paw fouree:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065645[/ATTACH]</p><p>Ionia. Ephesos</p><p>circa 600-550 BC.</p><p>1/48 Stater EL fourrée</p><p>3mm., 0,15g.</p><p>Lion's paw / Incuse punch.</p><p>nearly very fine</p><p>Karwiese series I / Type 1 (for prototype).</p><p><br /></p><p>Next up, using these 2 metals he created the world's first bimetallic monetary system. With the silver valued at a 13 to 1 ratio to the gold.</p><p>This is something that was revolutionary for Coinage and cannot be understated.</p><p><br /></p><p>(Insert image of gold coin from Ryro collection here. Image missing<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie46" alt=":facepalm:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />)</p><p><br /></p><p>All that said, a coin of Croesus was just a dream list coin for me. No way I'm getting the first silver coin in the history of planet Earth... Right???</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065704[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks to taking my time, keeping an eye out and a couple test marks, I was able to acquire a very desirable coin in much better condition than my budget should allow!</p><p>Check it out!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1065646[/ATTACH]</p><p>Kings of Lydia. Sardeis. Kroisos 564-539 BC.</p><p>Siglos AR</p><p>Confronted foreparts of lion right, with extended right foreleg, and bull left / Bipartite incuse squares of unequal size.</p><p>14 mm., 5,11 g.</p><p>2 test cuts on obverese, 1 on reverse. nearly very fine</p><p>Ex Savoca</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I don't think you'd be in this forum if you didn't think money was pretty cool.</p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]GXE_n2q08Yw[/MEDIA]</p><p>So, please post any coins of Croesus, first coin types, dream list coins you acquired or anything at all that doesn't destroy you're kingdom... Though might've done damage to your budget<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie47" alt=":greedy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ryro, post: 4095349, member: 91461"]King Croesus ruler of Lydia: [ATTACH=full]1065670[/ATTACH] (Croesus on the Pyre, Louvre) The man had money. His name is synonymous with wealth and riches. Almost 2,600 years later we're still saying it. He may have done more for the development of Coinage than any other single individual in history. It wasn't enough wealth to have his name used for the myth of King Midas. Though, certainly he fits the story better than anyone else in ancient history. And probably helped inspire the Midas myth. [ATTACH=full]1065660[/ATTACH] There is a wonderful story of Croesus meeting an elderly Solon, told by Herodotus. Yep, that Solon whom reformed Athens by rewriting all is laws. After showing Solon his palace and wealth Croesus asks Solon who the happiest man he had met was. Obviously, expecting to hear his own names. Solon replied, "There was a man in Athens named Tellus who was able to live until his children had children and he was still able to fight and die in battle. It was a glorious death. All celebrated him." Croesus was inflamed. After a few other stories of individuals that Solon felt lived happy lives Solon let a more and more perturbed Croesus in on a secret. Solon explained that he couldn't judge Croesus as happy as long as he was still alive. The Greeks had a belief that luck wasn't a good thing. If someone was lucky surely something bad was going to happy to them to even it out. This ment that the Greeks viewed happiness differently then the Persians and though Croesus felt that he was happy, Solon believed he was going to take a fall. The tale is probably just that. And might never have happened. But it's great moral was obvious. Hubris gets you nothing. And karmas a B. [ATTACH=full]1065661[/ATTACH] (Bust of Solon, Copy of Greek original) It wasn't enough gold and silver to defeat Cyrus the great of Persia. Croesus famously sought advice from the Oracle at Delphi who had told him that if he went to war against Cyrus he would 'destroy a great empire’ and here the 'great empire’ destroyed had been his own, not that of Cyrus. Though, his wealth was enough for him to remain onboard as puppet ruler after going up against one of the greatest, if not the, conquerors that Persia ever produced. Interestingly, though we are told Cyrus was moved to let Croesus live... The date we use for his death is the same date of the battle. [ATTACH=full]1065695[/ATTACH] (Relief of Cyrus the great) He had some of the ancient world's most remarkable monuments built. Croesus funded the construction of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world... I seem to remember reading a pretty cool article about the place from not too long ago [URL]https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-diana-of-ephesus-the-question-of-quality-vs-quantiti.354333/[/URL] And despite his wealth, no coins from his reign bare his name (though his successors would). And yet, no comprehensive writing on Coinage can be written without his name. What did he do that made him so impactful? A couple of things. First off, Croesus was the first to use pure silver and gold for his Coinage. Before he came along, for the previous hundred years or less, coins were made from a natural mixture of gold and silver we call electrum. My only bit of electrum is a Lion's paw fouree: [ATTACH=full]1065645[/ATTACH] Ionia. Ephesos circa 600-550 BC. 1/48 Stater EL fourrée 3mm., 0,15g. Lion's paw / Incuse punch. nearly very fine Karwiese series I / Type 1 (for prototype). Next up, using these 2 metals he created the world's first bimetallic monetary system. With the silver valued at a 13 to 1 ratio to the gold. This is something that was revolutionary for Coinage and cannot be understated. (Insert image of gold coin from Ryro collection here. Image missing:facepalm:) All that said, a coin of Croesus was just a dream list coin for me. No way I'm getting the first silver coin in the history of planet Earth... Right??? [ATTACH=full]1065704[/ATTACH] Thanks to taking my time, keeping an eye out and a couple test marks, I was able to acquire a very desirable coin in much better condition than my budget should allow! Check it out! [ATTACH=full]1065646[/ATTACH] Kings of Lydia. Sardeis. Kroisos 564-539 BC. Siglos AR Confronted foreparts of lion right, with extended right foreleg, and bull left / Bipartite incuse squares of unequal size. 14 mm., 5,11 g. 2 test cuts on obverese, 1 on reverse. nearly very fine Ex Savoca I don't think you'd be in this forum if you didn't think money was pretty cool. [MEDIA=youtube]GXE_n2q08Yw[/MEDIA] So, please post any coins of Croesus, first coin types, dream list coins you acquired or anything at all that doesn't destroy you're kingdom... Though might've done damage to your budget:greedy:;)[/QUOTE]
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