IONIA. Ephesos. Circa 650-600 BC. Trite or 1/3 Stater (Electrum, 12 mm, 4.60 g), Lydo-Milesian standard. Bee viewed from above. Rev. Incuse punch composed of two incuse squares with irregular indentations, separated by low convex vertical line. BMC -. BMFA -. Karwiese II.1, Type 2, 6-8 (same obverse die). Linzalone -. Pozzi -. Rosen 257 (same obverse die). SNG Kayhan -. SNG von Aulock 1768 (same obverse die). Weidauer 29-32 (same obverse die). Struck from a completely deteriorated obverse die, otherwise, very fine.


From the distinctive heart-shaped nodule where the bee's head once sat, it is evident that the obverse die continued to be used on this coin, while the equally worn-out reverse die had now been replaced. Presumably, this change was made for technical reasons: the old reverse die likely failed to provide adequate grip during striking, risking the blanks slipping off as mint workers minted the coins. The fact that the bee motif was no longer discernible seems to have been inconsequential; the primary concern was to ensure coinage could proceed. Whether this indicates a hurried emergency issue or simply reflects that coin motifs held little significance in this early era due to being a novel invention remains unclear.