Ephesos (BC 88-86) AV Stater

ca 88-86 BC. AV Stater (8.45g, 12h). Bust of Artemis right, wearing stephane; bow and quiver over shoulder / ΕΦΕ-ΣΙΩ[Ν], cult statue of Artemis Ephesia facing; bee in field to left. VF. Very rare. Ex Leu 22 (1979), 132; Numismatic Fine Arts 2 (1976), 209 and Kastner 4 (1973), 110.

Since 133 BC, Ephesos belonged to the Roman province of Asia and suffered from the shameless exploitation of the Roman tax collector. In 88 BC, the city revolted and went over to Mithridates VI of Pontos, who, in the so-called Asiatic Vespers, massacred thousands of Roman citizens. To pay his mercenaries, Mithradates struck large quantities of gold staters of traditional Ephesian types, but few specimens exist today.