I chose this denarius largely because of the portrait. The silver has darkened considerably with age, particularly around Marcus Aurelius's face, while the higher points have remained lighter and remarkably detailed. His curls, beard, eye, and profile stand out against the darker surface in a way that I found particularly attractive.

The shape of the coin presented a different question. Like most ancient coins, it is not perfectly round, but this one has a particularly interesting, irregular edge. A conventional bezel would have hidden much of it, so I decided to set the coin with individual 14k gold prongs instead. The setting holds the denarius securely while leaving almost all of its ancient edge visible.

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius is remembered today as both a Roman emperor and the author of the private writings we now call the Meditations. This denarius was struck only a few years before his death in AD 180, when the youthful portraits of his earlier coinage had long since given way to the older, heavily bearded emperor most of us recognize today.

That progression has interested me quite a bit lately. Marcus's beard was not merely an incidental feature of his appearance. To a Roman audience, facial hair could carry associations with maturity, philosophy, status, and the carefully constructed public image of an emperor. Looking at his coins chronologically, you can watch that image develop along with the man himself.

This particular portrait is one of the reasons the coin stayed with me. The darkened silver, the remarkably clear face, and the irregular edge give it an individuality that would have been lost had I tried to make the setting too perfect around it.