A New Find of Croeseid Coins from Sardis

A significant archaeological discovery at Sardis reveals nine heavily worn silver croeseid coins dating back to 547 BCE, when Cyrus defeated Croesus. The coins, found alongside human remains in the historic destruction level, provide strong evidence supporting Robert Wallace's revised timeline for Croesus's reign, suggesting it began in the 580s rather than 561 BCE. This finding underscores the groundbreaking impact of Croesus’s monetary reform, which introduced pure silver coinage—a innovation rapidly adopted across the Greek world. Meticulous conservation techniques distinguished use wear from postdeposition corrosion, offering unprecedented insights into the origins and circulation of the world's first silver coins.

Cahill, N., Bruce, W., Kroll, J. H., Frank, E. B., Kim, J., Castriota, B., Grant, A., Şimşek, H. S., Güngör, İ., & Erdal, Y. S. (2025). A New Find of Croeseid Coins from Sardis. Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 94(2), 143–183. https://doi.org/10.2972/hes.2025.a963374