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Æ31 - Antoninus Pius ΑΡΤΕΜΙϹ ΕΦΕϹΙΑ
| Issuer | Ephesus (Conventus of Ephesus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 138-140 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and cuirassed bust of Antoninus Pius, draped with paludamentum, facing right, viewed from the front. The portrait is rendered in the realistic Roman imperial style characteristic of Antoninus Pius's early reign. The obverse legend encircles the bust and identifies the emperor in Greek characters. The overall engraving is typical of the civic bronze coinage produced at Ephesus during the mid-second century AD. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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Ephesus held the title neokoros — warden of the imperial cult temple — and jealously defended that status against rival cities throughout the second century. Issues produced early in Antoninus Pius's reign, before the city secured a second neokorate, tend to emphasize the Artemision above all else, the sanctuary functioning as both religious anchor and civic credential in an era of intense inter-city rivalry across the Ionian conventus.
The Artemision itself had been rebuilt after arson by Herostratus in 356 BC and ranked among the Seven Wonders. By the Antonine period it was already ancient, its priesthoods politically loaded.