As Rich as Croesus
Today, very few people have heard the phrase, “as rich as Croesus” and its origin and yet until the recent past “Croesus” was a byword for someone who was incredibly wealthy.
Croesus was the King of Lydia in what is now Turkey from 595 BC to 540BC. He is credited with introducing the first standard coinage. He understood that money was essentially “an idea backed by confidence and action.” Before that time traders had to rely on bartering or just hoping that the gold and silver they were offered in return for their goods was of good quality and had not been adulterated. Croesus set up a royal mint. Due to improvements in metallurgy Croesus was able to mint coins which had impurities removed and were more or less pure gold or silver. By systemising the process and standardising the value of coinage Croesus built confidence and trust.
Traders valued this greatly as it meant they could trade knowing they were selling and buying at a known value. Lydia became a vital and important trading hub benefiting from its position close to Greece and the hinterland of Asia. Trade flourished and Croesus became extraordinarily wealthy.
Hence, the phrase “as rich as Croesus.”
Hamish Robertson is an award winning business coach with Actioncoach. He specialises in helping entrepreneurs build great businesses and improve the balance in their lives. Email him at hamishrobertson@actioncoach.com
