308, Lot: 133. Estimate $2000. Sold for $4750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of LYDIA. Alyattes. Circa 610-560 BC. EL 1/3 Stater – Trite (13mm, 4.65 g). Sardes mint. Confronted lion’s heads (only the left is visible); walwet (partially off flan) between / Double incuse square punch. Weidauer Group XVII, 93-4 and 96 var. (orientation of legend); Traité I 54 var. (same). VF.

From the Clearwater Collection.

The Kingdom of Lydia under the Mermnad Dynasty may well have been the originator of coinage in the Mediterranean world. It possessed rich deposits of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, which was the only metal used for coin production in its earliest stages. While most of these coins are anepigraphic, a small number of them bear either the the inscription walwet or kukalim in Lydian, the former thought to be the Mermnad king known from Greek sources as Alyattes. On trites such as this coin, the oversized die features two confronted lions’ heads, with the inscription between them, although only the right or left lion is ever fully visible. This die was seemingly engraved initially for the striking of staters, although none survive.