{"product_id":"young-marcus-aurelius-14k-gold","title":"Young Marcus Aurelius — 14k Gold","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt 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 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMeditations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Here Marcus is young and bareheaded, with only the beginnings of the features that become so familiar on his later coinage.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Setting\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe denarius is held in a handmade solid \u003c\/span\u003e14k gold prong setting\u003cspan\u003e. 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNo holes have been drilled into the coin and the setting was made specifically around this individual denarius.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe coin pictured is the exact coin used in this pendant.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhy I Chose It\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere are certainly sharper Marcus Aurelius denarii. I didn't choose this one because it was the best preserved.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI chose it because it shows Marcus before the Marcus Aurelius we know.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNearly 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe wear and discoloration are part of the coin that survived those intervening eighteen centuries. I decided to leave them exactly where they belong.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Struck AD 172","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51255584096292,"sku":null,"price":1295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0732\/2766\/5444\/files\/DSCF2038.jpg?v=1786639711","url":"https:\/\/www.peregrinependants.com\/products\/young-marcus-aurelius-14k-gold","provider":"Peregrine Pendants","version":"1.0","type":"link"}