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ROMAN REPUBLIC HELMETED ROMA SILVER DENARIUS COIN PENDANT IN 14K YELLOW GOLD 193 A.D. For the first time ever, we offer a very unique piece of ancient coin jewelry, a coin pendant that CAN BE WORN ON BOTH SIDES - there is no "back"! This is a new design I am only able to offer in those very rare instances where the coin is so perfectly struck as to be uniform AND have a reverse that is right side up as the obverse is. Furthermore, not only is the detail and relief of this coin in close to an UNCIRCULATED state, both sides of this coin afford the same perfection of preservation and centering of the dies when it was struck. All said, this is one heck of a rare coin in this condition and the theme of the Empress with her signature hair style offers a wonderful subject coin to be used in jewelry. The obverse shows a young Julia Domna in the historical 'prime' of her life. The reverse (on the right, above) shows the Roman personification PUDICITIA - representing chastity and modesty, seated wearing a veil. The gold pendant setting is a robust wavy ribbon filigree design offering a breathtaking and highly unusual setting for this work of ancient art! The rich luster of the silver denarius coin contrasts well with the warm 14KY gold and makes for an unforgettable piece of jewelry. Julia Domna was one of the most powerful people in the Roman Empire during the period from A.D. 193 to 217. While her emperor husband, Septimius Severus, was fighting rivals, pursuing rebels, and subduing revolts in the far corners of the empire, Julia Domna was left to administer the vast Roman Empire. She proved to be an able administrator, playing one powerful general or senator against another, while keeping herself from falling into the many traps set by political enemies at court. Septimius often sought her advice, as did Caracalla when he ascended the throne after his brother's murder. She was also a patron of the arts and invited the most brilliant philosophers, writers, and other artists in the Roman world to grace her court and keep learning and culture alive in a world that was destined to fall onto chaos within less than a generation. Julia was a woman who was accustomed to power, but this came to an end after the murder of her son Caracalla in A.D. 217. Hers had also been a life filled with many sorrows. Caracalla had murdered his brother Geta in her private apartments even as the younger son sought protection in Julia's arms. After Macrinus had murdered Caracalla and seized the throne, he sent her away from Antioch after it was reported that Julia was inciting troops to rebel against him. At this time, she was believed to be about fifty years old and was suffering from a painful illness, probably cancer of the breast. Rather than face exile and the humiliation of being reduced to the status of a private citizen, she elected to commit suicide by starving herself. Even at this later date when the finest of numismatic art belonged to the past, the portraits on her coins accurately depicted her face. On the coins from early in the reign of her husband, we see the face of a strong young woman, but we see a cynical face hardened and lined with age in her later portraits. This coin of Julia Domna in her youth depicts a beautiful and powerful Julia, minted at what was, most likely, the happiest days of her life. No coin could offer finer detail and preservation as this example. Virtually UNCIRCULATED!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED with detail and relief rivaling any of the finest possible numismatic specimens of Imperial Rome! Overall diameter is a sizable 24 mm. CPR026 SOLD *if desired, add $185 for chain shown, for a 16" 14KY gold coriana chain. |
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