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1/2 Stater - temp. Cyrus the Great 'Cyrus II of Persia'
| Issuer | Lydian Satrapy (under Achaemenid Persian authority) |
|---|---|
| Year | 548 BC - 515 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 16.2 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Two incuse square punches of unequal size, the larger dominating the field and the smaller adjoining it, both exhibiting the characteristic mill-sail or divided quadrate pattern. The punches are deeply impressed with irregular interior markings resulting from the primitive punch technique employed at the Sardes mint. The surface within each punch shows diagonal striations. No legend or inscription is present. |
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| Mint | Sardes mint |
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| Additional information |
These fractional pieces were struck at Sardis following Cyrus's conquest of Lydia around 547 BC, when Achaemenid administrators inherited and continued the Lydian minting apparatus rather than dismantling it. The Persians, having no established coinage tradition of their own at this stage, pragmatically kept local craftsmen and existing die practices in place — which is precisely why this issue so closely mirrors its pre-conquest predecessors.
Sardis remained the administrative and monetary center of the western satrapy for decades after the conquest. The die-cutters working under Persian oversight were almost certainly the same artisans who had served Croesus.