Seven wonders of the ancient world

The third of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The legendary monument is commemorated by the Czech Mint by issuance of a gold coin weighing one troy ounce.

The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus - the centre of the cult of the goddess of hunting and fertility, located on the coast of Asia Minor - was the largest of the ancient Greek temples. It served not only for religious purposes, but also as a place for trade, meetings, festivals and sports games. The magnificent marble sanctuary, decorated with precious gems, precious metals and numerous works of art, became the benchmark of Ionian architecture, but was unfortunately consumed by flames in 356 BC. This was the fault of a mad arsonist who wanted to go down in history forever with this barbaric act. A man named Herostratos fell through the throat, and to prevent anyone from trying to imitate him, it was forbidden to mention his name under penalty of death. But the historian Theopompos disobeyed, recorded the cursed name, and Hérostratos became as world-famous as he wished...

The reverse side of the coin, which is the work of the medal maker Petra Brodská, DiS., presents a depiction of the Temple of Artemis, which is based, among other things, on contemporary coins. The English inscription states THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS AT EPHESUS. The obverse side, which is common to the entire cycle, then presents all seven wonders of the world - the Egyptian pyramids, the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse on the island of Pharos. As the coins of the Czech Mint are issued with the foreign licence of the island of Niue, their obverse side also bears the portrait and name of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 50 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2022.

The schedule of issuance has only 200 pieces of one-ounce coins.