Constantine the Great Stick Pin - Identification?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Marsyas Mike, Apr 11, 2021.

  1. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Just in from eBay Europe, my first piece of ancient coin jewelry. A Constantine I (the Great) AE 18 with a VOT XX reverse mounted in a silver (?) pin. As far as I can tell, the coin was not damaged in the mounting - it looks like the jewelry part was crafted around it.

    Because of the pin, I cannot make out the mintmark. Are there any Constantine experts out there who can pinpoint this from the portrait? Thessalonica is my guess, based on a little bit of poking around the web.

    Please share your coin jewelry. Or Constantine VOT XX's.

    Constantine I - VOT XX pin CZ Mar 2021 (0a).jpg
    Constantine I - VOT XX pin CZ Mar 2021 (0det).jpg
    Constantine I - VOT XX pin CZ Mar 2021 (0det2).jpg
     
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  3. Matthew Kruse

    Matthew Kruse Young Numismatist

    Very nice!

    Here is one of my coin jewelry pieces. Sorry its not an ancient but its still cool!!!

    upload_2021-4-11_13-34-35.png
     
  4. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Nice piece! I believe that's the last of the sterling (.925) British shillings.

    Over the years I've accumulated quite a few jewelry pieces, sometimes I even wear them - the OP is my first ancient though.

    Coin jewelry (1).JPG
     
  5. Matthew Kruse

    Matthew Kruse Young Numismatist

    Very nice collection! There is just something about old silver coins that I just love. I like getting silver jewelry pieces because they are cheaper and considered damaged, but you still get an awesome coin for your collection.
     
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  6. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    Yes, Thessalonica. RIC VII Thessalonica 117
     
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  7. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Thank you, Victor! I appreciate it.
     
  8. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Mike, That's a well crafted stick pin & probably antique :D! The jeweler took great care not to impair the coin in any way :happy:. A lot of coin collectors frown on using coins in jewelry but I like well crafted coin jewelry that uses a bezel type of mount instead of prong mountings. I sold a well crafted 18K gold pendant in the CNG 483 auction pictured below for $1,298.00.
    CNG 483, Lot 672_1.jpg
    I still have a 1/2 Eagle gold coin set in a heavy 14K gold mounting that I wear often pictured below :cool:.

    U.S. $5.00 14K Ring (2).jpg
     
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  9. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    Like it Mike, still useful today. Here's my Constantine the Great Thessalonica mint, but without the pin :)

    P1170999 (3).JPG

    and a broche:

    P1150706.JPG
     
  10. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Andres, That's an impressive piece of cut-out jewelry :happy:!
     
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  11. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    Please pardon my astounding ignorance, but what exactly is a stick pin used for? Is it like a tie pin or tie clip, used to hold a tie in place? My father wore tie clips, but I haven't seen one in a long time. Sort of like the men's hats my father used to wear to work every day. Those fell out of fashion by the 1970s.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2021
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  12. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Well, Donna, my ignorance was pretty astounding too...I did not know what a stick pin was, exactly, either. Your query piqued my interest. I just found that Wikipedia has an article on these ("neckwear-controlling device" is pretty funny):

    "A tie pin (or tiepin, also known as a stick pin/stickpin) is a neckwear-controlling device, originally worn by wealthy English gentlemen to secure the folds of their cravats. They were first popularized at the beginning of the 19th century. Cravats were made of silk, satin, lace and lightly starched cambric, lawn and muslin, and stickpins were necessary accoutrements to keep these expensive fabrics in place and safe. Stickpins commonly used pearls and other precious gemstones set in gold or other precious metals and were designed specifically for their owners....

    ...During the 1920s the use of straight ties made of delicate materials such as silk became more fashionable and the use of tie clips gained prominence, replacing the more traditional tie pin."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie_pin

    Tie clips I am familiar with - just wore one to a funeral last weekend. Dad wore them too. But stick pins were before our time, it seems.

    I know very little about jewelry, but I always figured the stick pins in my coin jewelry collection, including the Constantine, were vaguely pre-World War II. There are a couple of these in my other photo - Papal States and a few from Panama, all 19th-early-20th century coins.

    When I wear one, I stick it in the lapel of a jacket - and usually manage to stab myself. :arghh:
     
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  13. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Nice coin-jewelry, Al. I'd like to have a gold ring like that, but I'd be afraid of wearing it (I tend to lose rings).

    As for coins in jewelry, I hate to see things damaged, but over the years I've gotten some coins that normally would not be affordable for me, thanks to somebody mounting them for jewelry. The best situation is when the coin isn't damaged - which is why I liked the Constantine - the jeweler took some pains to shape the bezel, rather than just soldering on a pin.
     
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  14. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Thanks for sharing that un-mounted Constantine. That sure seems to be a match to my pin.

    As for that Spanish pin - I like it! I can't believe the amount of work that must've gone into a cut-out job like this.
     
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  15. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    P1250098 (3).JPG

    These tie pins are from the 1960's , back then many companies issued these,
    still have an album with 200 of these pins. Some people stuck 'm on their jackets and ties , but most ended up in collections.
     
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  16. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Donna, I got an education from a stick pin collector about 30 years ago :rolleyes:. He had a collection of over 150 different ones that would pop your eyes out :wideyed:. Stick pins became fashionable during the Victorian period & were worn by men & women in ties, lapels, hats & scarves. The best ones were set with precious stones, hardstone cameos, & pearls.
     
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