Stater: Lion (obverse); Incuse Punches (reverse), 600-550 BC. Greek, minted at Miletos (Ionia). Electrum (gold-silver alloy); overall: 1.6 x 2 x 0.8 cm (5/8 x 13/16 x 5/16 in.). The lion, king of the beasts and an animal associated with regal and heroic power, featured prominently on the coinage of many ancient Greek city-states. Artists placed the lion in a variety of poses, sometimes including the whole body, at other times the foreparts or just the head. Although it may once have roamed nearby, for many Greeks the lion was a monster nearly as exotic as the Chimaera, of which it formed a part, together with a goat head and snake-headed tail.