King Cyrus, Croeseid/Achaemenid Empire

Types of precious metal units such as this one which include a design on only one side were among the first objects produced that approach what we today would term a ‘coin’. Stamping a design on a single side resulted in an indention on the opposite side in the shape of the punch tool used to press the metal piece into the mold. This genre of coin was minted in Lydia beginning around the mid-7^th century BCE.¹, and was later continued by the Persians through the late 4^th century BCE.       

This particular coin is considered a Croeseid type, named after the Lydian King Croesus who reigned circa 560-547 BCE. He possessed such excessive fortune that the phrase “as rich as Croesus” came into use as a reference to a person with extreme wealth. This comparison “remained proverbial beyond classical antiquity”.² However, a place he holds in world history of higher significance than his vast treasury was his humiliating surrender to the Persians under King Cyrus II the Great, which ended the long-standing independence of the Lydian Empire and extended the Persian Empire significantly westward. 

The Croeseid type of coinage holds an interesting place in numismatic history as the origination of the bimetallic coinage system which was a “remarkable monetary innovation, one that was to have profound impact on the diffusion of coinage throughout the ancient world.”³ Bimetallism involves a monetary standard in which coins are struck in two different metals maintaining a certain unit equivalency of exchange ratio. Croesus’ introduction of this methodology was by producing gold and silver coins separately, with a common design, and a gold-to-silver ratio of 3:40.⁴

The Lydian city of Sardis was the primary (and likely the sole) mint location for the Croeseid coins, which typically featured a lion and bull positioned in confrontation. Under Croesus’ reign these units are believed to have been full stater⁵ units, but the Persians who succeeded Croesus’ control of Lydia continued production of lion and bull types for a short time in smaller, fractional units of the stater. (This coin featured here would have been in this category, and hence struck under the reign of Cyrus.) Evidence from the study of coin hoards “show that the issues attributed to Croesus did not circulate with those struck by the Persians”.⁶   

Establishing an absolute precise date of production for these types is unworkable despite the painstaking efforts of several numismatic scholars. Having read the fruit of such studies, this author has supposed an approximate 540-525 BCE range of issuance for this example. Although not the sole basis for this supposition, Nimchuk’s reporting of ten silver half-staters found in a large hoard dated to 525 BCE which she suspects to be her early types (A-C) serves as an important foothold.⁷  Further support is seen in that the stylistic characteristics of the two animals on this example point to an early rather than later period of their production.⁸  Also, the 525 terminus pre-dates by three years the reign of Darius I, who reformed coinage away from the lion and bull design, hence taking this design out of production.

Ascertaining the duration of actual post-production circulation is as challenging as determining a date of production. This is because the circulation duration of precious metal coins from this place and time would have been quite fluid due to a number of variables – perhaps most notably the human tendencies to hoard, coupled with the need for a means of safe-keeping one’s wealth. But with some degree of certainty it can be said that this coin entered circulation after the 547 B.C. successful siege against Croesus at Sardis by Persian King Cyrus II “The Great” which brought an end to the reign of King Croesus — and would have continued in circulation throughout the remainder of Cyrus’ reign. 

Cyrus and his conquering of both Lydia and Babylonia are of great consequence in history and Scripture. Through his strategic military prowess Cyrus attained Persian control from Anatolia in the west all the way eastward to Babylon and the Medes, which included the Holy Land in between. His conquering of Babylon directly led to the end of the Babylonian Captivity. Beyond the aspects of vast land control and biblical significance, “the fall of Sardis and Babylon was the starting point of European life; and the beginning of Grecian art and philosophy, and the foundation of the Roman constitution”.⁹  

Cyrus is named in Daniel 10:1, and is mentioned twenty-three times in Scripture in four different books. His famous decree which opened the door for Jews to return to Jerusalem after their being taken into Babylonian Captivity was a tremendous stepping stone for God’s people (Ezra 1:1-2), and provided strong catalyst for rebuilding Jerusalem’s Temple and walls. This coin’s ca. 540-525 BCE issuance was only an approximate half-century after King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army overtook Jerusalem, destroyed and pillaged the Temple, and took Jewish captives to Babylon (2. Kings 24-25).

Further biblical perspective is gained through acknowledging that key events during this coin’s presumed production and circulation period included the vast expansion of the Persian Empire under King Cyrus II (Isaiah 45:1a), the fall of Babylon¹⁰ to the Persians led by Cyrus (Daniel 5:25-31), the return of Sheshbazzar¹¹ from Babylonian exile with a group of returnees along with many holy articles that Nebuchadnezzar had pillaged from the Temple (Ezra 1:7-11), Sheshbazzar’s beginning effort of rebuilding the Temple ca. 536 BCE, and events of Daniel 6–12 which included the narrative of Daniel’s rescue from the lion den.

It bears pointing out that in this very early period of coinage we cannot think in the exact manner as we do about modern coins. Rather than having specific worth as per ‘face value’ denomination, the worth of these ancient pieces rested upon their intrinsic precious metal value. As example, this coin is the weight of one-half Babylonian shekel¹², and would have been used in trade accordingly, a usage which can be viewed as a half-way step between Hacksilver and modern coinage.  

From the standpoint of ancient biblical coins, it must be significantly noted that although ancient biblical coinage is often chronologically limited to the late-Intertestamental¹³ through the New Testament periods, coins such as this coin clearly belong to Old Testament times – which did not end for a full century later with composition of Nehemiah and of Malachi’s prophecies ca 432-424 BCE.¹⁴  The oldest coins owned by many collectors of biblical coins date only to the last half of the Intertestamental Period. And many Christian ancient biblical coin collectors focus narrowly on 1^st century A.D. coinage.   

The full intended meaning of the opposing lion and bull depiction is not known. Various theories have been proposed. But it would seem evident that it carries the idea of confrontation, which in that place and time would have been associated with strength at war – and threat of war between governmental powers. It is known however that the lion featured predominately in Lydian art and royal emblems, and also that study of the two animals as poised in Croeseid issues indicates the lion as attacking the bull rather than vice-versa. ¹⁵ Accordingly, the paired animals may have originally alluded to the confrontation “of the Lydian lion with the powerful Persian world which coveted it, or an ‘alliance’ between the two states.”¹⁶

ENDNOTES

¹ The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Edited by William E. Metcalf. Oxford University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-937218-8.  “Asia Minor to the Ionian Revolt”. Koray Konuk. Page 43.

² Great Empires of the Past: Empires of Ancient Persia. Michael Burgan. Page 25. Copyright 2010. ISBN 978-1-60413-156-7.  

³ The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Edited by William E. Metcalf. Oxford University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-937218-8.  “Asia Minor to the Ionian Revolt”. Koray Konuk. Page 49.

⁴ Periodical: “The Journal of the Classical & Medieval Numismatic Society”, published quarterly in Toronto. Issue” June, 2000; Series Two, Volume One. Article: “The lion and bull coinage of Croesus”, by Cindy L. Nimchuk. Page 22.

⁵ Stater is the term for a specific unit of weight coin (denomination) produced in ancient times by the Lydians, Greeks, and others. It was issued in precious metals only, and was of a size that would be viewed as a fairly large coin by today’s standards. At the time of this coin’s production in Lydia a full Stater would have been 10.6 grams, which is only slightly smaller than a U.S. half-dollar. The Greeks valued it as a tetradrachm (four drachms).

⁶ The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Edited by William E. Metcalf. Oxford University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-937218-8.  “Asia Minor to the Ionian Revolt”. Koray Konuk. Page 51. 

⁷ Periodical: “The Journal of the Classical & Medieval Numismatic Society”, published quarterly in Toronto. Issue” June, 2000; Series Two, Volume One. Article: “The lion and bull coinage of Croesus”, by Cindy L. Nimchuk. Page 22

⁸ Both Dr. Ian Carradice and Dr. Cindy Nimchuk in private communications attribute this coin to the earlier period of this type’s production. Likewise did Ross Glanfield. Nimchuk specifically categorized it as her A/B type. See also endnote ¹² below.

⁹ Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Cyrus Article, (B. F. Westcott).

¹⁰ Archaeological excavations in conjunction with the British Museum during the late 19^th century discovered a cylindrical shaped clay tablet now known as the Cyrus Cylinder. With cuneiform writing in the Akkadian language it contains the words of Cyrus the Great written shortly after his assuming control of Babylon. Study of this archaeological artifact has dated it to circa 538 B.C., and has translated it as Cyrus’ claim to be king of Babylon and mighty king of the world, who entered Babylon, and took up residence in the royal palace of preceding Babylonian royalty. See: Great Empires of the Past: Empires of Ancient Persia. Michael Burgan. Page 26. Copyright 2010. ISBN 978-1-60413-156-7.  

¹¹ Sheshbazzar is mentioned in Scripture four times in connection with being appointed by Cyrus to lead the first group of returnees from the Babylonian exile to Judah ca. 536 B.C., thereby in essence becoming the first Persian appointed governor of the province of Judah (Yehud Medinita). He was succeeded as governor by Zerubbabel (Haggai 1:1). For more information on governors of this province see the article on the silver half-gerah of Hezekiah.

¹² Under the Babylonian weight system a shekel weight would be just over 8 grams. As this example weighs 3.94 grams it would be a slightly underweight one-half Babylonian shekel. To this point it is worth noting that the surmised 540-525 BCE dating of this coin would coincide with the Persian entry into Babylon and its economy. However, alternatively, this coin may be a 12% overweight example of a one-third stater on the standard Croeseid system. (A thorough research of historical auction listings for this type revealed examples ranged from as low as 2.80 grams to as heavy as 4.08 grams.) Overweight one-third staters of this type have been termed as “heavy” or “massive” and are assigned by some into an early period of one-third stater production; though the view of a separate “massive” period has come into question. [See also endnote ⁸ above.]

¹³ The term “Intertestamental Period” is used primarily among Christians to denote the approximate 400-year period between the close of the Old Testament writings/events and the beginning of the New Testament events.  However, the term has fallen out of common usage and replaced with “Second Temple Judaism”. To a large degree, the Second Temple Period, ca. 538 BCE–70 AD, as used in Jewish scholarship (though not exclusively) dovetails with the Intertestamental Period.  In this same vein the term New Testament is obviously a Christian term, although other faiths are not un-familiar with it. Similarly, the term Old Testament used by Christians would be understood by Jews as ‘Hebrew Bible’, ‘Hebrew Scriptures’, ‘Scripture’, or ‘Tanakh’ (an acronym of the first Hebrew letter of the three sections: Torah (Genesis – Deuteronomy), Nevi’im (the prophets), and Ketuvim (literally: writings).

¹⁴ URL: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10321-malachi-book-of

¹⁵ See the discussion of other possible interpretations of how confrontation may have been intentionally depicted in: “Kroisos Lion and Bull” article online. 

¹⁶ Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia, Volume 25, 2014, page 42, from article “The Greek Far West: an exceptional adaptation of a design from Asia Minor with bull and lion foreparts”, by: Jean-Albert Chevillon and Pere Pau Ripollès`.