I have always liked Roman coins depicting the implements used by Rome's priests, so this was a coin I wanted to set despite (perhaps partly because of) its age and wear.

It was struck in Rome between AD 140 and 144, when Marcus Aurelius was still Caesar under Antoninus Pius. He was only in his twenties, and the portrait is very different from the older, heavily bearded emperor we recognize from the Meditations. Here Marcus is young and bareheaded, with only the beginnings of the features that become so familiar on his later coinage.

The silver itself has had a long life. The surfaces are worn and unevenly toned, with areas of darker discoloration. I don't mind that. I chose the coin for the youthful portrait and, especially, for what survives on the other side.

The Setting

The denarius is held in a handmade solid 14k gold prong setting. I chose prongs rather than enclosing the coin in a full bezel so that as much of the ancient silver as possible remains visible, including its irregular edge.

The contrast is particularly nice on this piece. The clean lines and warm color of the new gold sit against silver that very obviously looks its age. I didn't want to disguise that age by surrounding it with too much metal.

No holes have been drilled into the coin and the setting was made specifically around this individual denarius.

The coin pictured is the exact coin used in this pendant.

Why I Chose It

There are certainly sharper Marcus Aurelius denarii. I didn't choose this one because it was the best preserved.

I chose it because it shows Marcus before the Marcus Aurelius we know.

Nearly all of the familiar imagery comes later: the great beard, the mature philosopher-emperor, the wars on the Danube. Here he is still a young Caesar being prepared for a position he would not inherit for another seventeen years. Turn the coin over and, instead of seeing him celebrated for some victory, you find the implements of Roman priesthood.

The wear and discoloration are part of the coin that survived those intervening eighteen centuries. I decided to leave them exactly where they belong.