The fourth of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World bullion rounds from APMEX has just debuted, and this time around depicts the Temple of Artemis, and one of its most famous figures by association, Alexander the Great. The temple was actually the third built on the site, with the second having been burned to the ground in an act of arson, supposedly on the day of Alexander’s birth.

Located at Ephesus, around 75 km south of the modern Turkish port of Izmir, the temple was 137 m in length, 69 m in width, and 18 m in height, with at least 127 columns. Construction began in 323 BCE. Like so many of the great structures from antiquity, it was broken down by later religions, in this case Christianity, that felt threatened by earlier pagan magnificence. It was widely admired in antiquity, and was an easy inclusion in the Seven Wonders.

The bullion round has a decent depiction of the temple’s front facade on its reverse face, but we’ve always found the portraits on the obverse side of this series to be the highlight. In this case, it’s Alexander the Great, and the image of him is first class, the equal of the King Hammurabi on the second issue, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. As before, there’s a 1 oz gold variant with a 77 mintage (boxed with a COA), and an encapsulated silver 1 oz round (box optional) with a 7,777 mintage. A nice release, available now from APMEX.