Situated about 40 km south of the Turkish city of Izmir, Ephesus was an Ancient Greek city state, built from the 10th century BC by Greek colonists. One of the twelve cities that formed the Classic Greek Ionian League, Ephesus was particularly famous from the late 6th century BC, because of its impressive Temple of Artemis, now considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and a theatre believed to be the biggest in antiquity, and capable of holding 25,000 people. It was the biggest city in the Roman Empire after Rome itself

Artemis was the Greek goddess of hunting, childbirth, and nature, particularly wild animals. The Ephesian Artemis had the bee as her symbol, and it was incorporated into the shields of their hoplites (infantry), and prominently on the cities coins. Called the Bee and Buck Tetradrachm, there are almost 1,000 subtle variations of this coin from the region. The reverse face depicts a bee (the incarnation of Artemis), often in quite startling detail, while the obverse features a date palm (Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis under palm trees on the island of Delos), and a stag (the charioteer of Artemis), either in full or half body form.

World Coin Appreciation have just issued what is essentially a replica of one of them, based on an actual coin (we’ve seen the original, but the image owner can’t be traced, so it may be copyrighted), although likely a bit larger, and gilded. The coin is 15 grams in weight, and 28 mm in diameter. It’s issued for Palau, so obviously there are a few inscribed additions on the obverse, but in general, this is a very satisfying replica of what is clearly a stunning numismatic. Just 500 will be struck.