These coins date from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, when Ephesus passed from Persian control to Alexander the Great and then to his successors, before becoming part of the Roman province of Asia in 133 BCE.
Ephesus minted coins for more than a thousand years. Its early silver coins carried the bee, the symbol of the city and of Artemis, and later issues show the city's temples, rulers and gods, so coins found at the site help date buildings and trace the city's trade and history.