Everyone has heard the saying “rich as Croesus”. Croesus who lived from the 6th century BC was King of Lydia from c. 560-547 BC. The Kingdom of Lydia was situated in western Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Legend has it that Croesus got his extreme wealth from the sands of the Pactolus river. The Pactolus also had a legend surrounding its history. It was the supposed site where King Midas, a legendary king who wished for everything he touched to turn to gold finally came to see the error of his deepest desire and washed his hands clean in the Pactolus. 

Croesus was the very first to strike bimetallic coins. The lion/bull imagery is found on everything from heavy staters to 1/96 staters. Both silver and gold were utilized with a departure from the electrum coinage standardly used. Croesus did not strike any coins in electrum.

Croesus was also famous for funding the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the world. He also famously misinterpreted the Oracle at Delphi when he assumed that the Lydians would defeat the Persian Empire in battle.