Myshemihekte

Among the earliest coinage struck anywhere in the world, the Ephesian electrum series predates any standardized monetary system by decades. These fractional pieces — the myshemihekte representing one-ninety-sixth of a stater — were almost certainly produced under the authority of the temple of Artemis, which held enormous economic influence over the city. The natural electrum alloy drawn from the Pactolus River varied in gold-to-silver ratio from piece to piece, meaning no two coins from this series are chemically identical.