Didrachm - Aristratos

Ephesos struck coinage under Aristratos during a period when the city changed hands repeatedly between Ptolemaic and Seleukid control — a consequence of the Syrian Wars that made civic monetary policy a function of whoever currently held the Aegean coast. Aristratos is identified as a magistrate responsible for this issue, his name appearing as the issuing authority in a system where named magistrates guaranteed the silver standard rather than any dynastic power.

The BMC Greek 91 reference places this firmly within the sequential magistrate series documented by the British Museum. Ephesian silver of this period is well-attested but individual magistrate issues survive in small numbers.