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ROMAN IMPERIAL STANDING EAGLE SILVER DENARIUS COIN PENDANT IN 14K YELLOW GOLD 69 - 79 A.D. This is a beautiful example of an uncommon reverse image for Roman denarii, the Roman eagle. The coin featured here is a genuine ancient silver denarius minted under the emperor Vespasian during 69 to 79 A.D.. The eagle was a symbol of supremacy and power and was first used on coinage by the Greeks. The Romans continued the tradition and used the eagle as well, on their coinage but it was not a common theme. The designs of modern United States coinage derives its concepts of the eagle from ancient Roman coinage and many of the ancient Roman styles were closely duplicated on American coinage such as the reverse of the Washington quarter. It is a special offering to present an ancient Roman coin with one of the original eagle renditions on its reverse. The preservation is excellent and plainly visible as seen above. The obverse, not shown, has a profile of Emperor Vespasian. With its high polished simple 14KY yellow gold setting, this classic genuine article of a great empire from antiquity also serves as a stunning piece of jewelry. Vespasian was one of the most gentle of all the Roman emperors and one of the few DECENT and good-hearted emperors of Rome. He appreciated a good joke, even when he was the butt of it. He never had an innocent man punished, and even wept for condemned criminals when it was necessary that they be executed. He was an old soldier, and would often show kindness to other old soldiers. His father was a tax collector, and Vespasian himself had to become a mule driver after he was banished from Nero's court having fallen asleep during one of Nero's performances. Later, Nero made him a general and put him in command of an army sent to put down a revolt in Judea. When Vespasian became emperor his son Titus replaced him as general in Judea and finally put down the revolt in A.D. 70 with the tragic destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. He was never ashamed of the fact that he was the son of a common man, unlike all the emperors before him who had come from aristocratic families. People occasionally made fun of his Latin pronunciation, and he would sometimes just turn the joke around on them. One day he asked a famous comedian, "Why don't you make a joke about me?" Since Vespasian usually had a strained expression on his face, the comic replied, "I will, as soon as you’re finished going to the bathroom!" Most other emperors would have had the man's head, but Vespasian just took it all in stride and laughed along with the others. One famous example shows how much he really did care for the ordinary Roman citizen. An engineer had come up with an ingenious method for moving some heavy stone columns being used in the construction of a public building. "I must always make sure that there is enough work for my laboring classes to make a living," he replied and decided to employ laborers instead. Nevertheless, Vespasian thanked the man and rewarded him handsomely. Vespasian died on June 23, A.D. 79 after a short illness. As he was at the point of death, he struggled to stand up, saying that an emperor should die on his feet. He even made a joke about his own death. It was the custom to consecrate popular emperors after their deaths, declaring them a minor god. Vespasian was heard to say as he was about to expire, "Oh my, I fear I am about to become a god!" Overall diameter is 26 mm. CPR072 SOLD COMES WITH A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY / HISTORY SHEET *** shown with optional CHAIN E, not included |
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