Despite being an American gold coin I'm posting this pendant in the World Coins forum because the mount was most likely made in Europe or by a European craftsman,see photos below. The coin is a $10 gold Eagle dated 1899, and struck at the Philadelphia Mint, weight 16.718 gm, diameter 27 mm, composition .900 gold & .100 copper. mintage 1,262,219. The coin was designed by Christian Gobrecht, and was minted from 1838 - 1907, with the only change in design occurring in 1866 when the inscription IN GOD WE TRUST added to the reverse. The overall weight of the pendant is 24.50 gm. The mount is unmarked but has been tested as 18 kt gold (.750 fineness). Coin jewelry is a very sensitive subject with American collectors, but not so much with European collectors. Most American collectors believe coins should never be mounted in jewelry regardless of their condition. Many European collectors, on the other hand, have no problem with coin jewelry, especially gold coin jewelry. Wearing gold coin jewelry has a tradition going back well over 2,000 years among classical European an barbarian cultures. Roman and Byzantine coins have been the most popular coins used for jewelry by ancient cultures, and imitations of these coins were commonly used by barbarian cultures for their jewelry. The mount for this gold eagle was made in the 1st quarter of the 20th century, is completely hand wrought, unlike the die-stamped or cast mounts usually seen today. A carefully made bezel securely holds the coin without detracting or impairing any part of the coins design. Many of the mass produced mounts used for gold coin jewelry today use four prongs on the back of the coin to secure it, obscuring some part of the design and leaving permanent marks on the coins surface. Pictured below my pendant are four other coin pendants, three of which are ancient, and all having beautifully crafted mounts. Roman gold aureus, Severus Alexander, AD 222 - 235 Roman / Byzantine gold medallion of Honorius, AD 393 - 423 Barbarian imitation of a Roman aureus, circa AD 250 British sovereign, Queen Victoria, circa 1900
