Ancient Coins as jewelry.. your thoughts?

Really interested in your opinion (and your examples!) of ancient coins that have been converted into jewelry?

Firstly I will start with the official definition of "jewelry" .. (for reasons):
"personal ornaments, such as necklaces, rings, or bracelets, that are typically made from or contain jewels and precious metal."

When I first started collecting ancient coins I felt physically ill when I saw an amazing ancient coin clipped or wedged into a gold loop.. uugh! What kind of psycho does this? Abomination!!

However over time I have come to accept that "what's done is done".

I own coins with numbers glued directly to the coin's surface.



People with noble intentions applied that glue. Intentions should be considered when previous generations turned ancients into jewelry.

I recently paid under $20 shipped for this little gem. A super crappy LRB that has a jewelry clasp applied. My first piece of ancient coin jewelry!!! Why do this to an extremely common coin in poor shape?? "This is Licinius for gods sake!.. hasn't he suffered enough!!?" ......We may never know!



I do know one thing about this old coin: Someone loved it!
Owning a coin (or anything) that someone once loved is enjoyable.
I think that's worth the $18... if it has nothing else it may have good karma?!

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My question:
At what point in the history of coin production was a coin first seen as more valuable (or important?) than the value of the precious metals it contained?

Ya, ya - I actually would just love to see any of your ancient coins that are jewelry or were once used in jewelry!!

 

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I share your distain for using ancient coins, especially coins in nice collectable grade in jewelry, and at the same time, like you, have accepted as something that happens. Using coins as jewelry dates back hundreds years, with large coins often converted into medallions or necklaces.

I don't have any ancient coins in mounts or mount removed. I do have a couple of early thalers that are ex-jewelry.

As for the question, that's hard to say. Certainly the artistry of Greek coins, particularly those of Syracuse were held in high esteem, as they are now. But, if we are talking about the value of a coin in terms of design versus bullion value, then I would still go back to Syracuse, where there was an obvious emphasis on artistry, even though the final products were often plagued by problems resulting from their manufacturer: poor quality flan, rusted dies, poor strikes, etc.

Also, there were obvious factors that influenced the Greeks and Romans when designing the dies for their coins, besides the metal content. These factors clearly show how ancient civilizations valued the coins they produce, just as we do today. They range from producing coins that convey the power, bravery and beneficence of a ruler, the dominance and glory of an empire, the honoring of gods and, where expedient, former rulers, to name a few. So, coming back to your question, when did all of this begin, I can only say that it began when the first recognizable coins were struck or cast by the human hand, and that going back a bit.

I hope all of this makes sense...back to my medications.....

 

I have a holed denarius that I'd once tempted to add to my chain, but then I realised how miserable/or not the original person was who once had that coin, and I want none of that! just some superstitions.

 

Clavdivs, Great score & definitely a period mount . It was probably done by a barbarian who couldn't read & thought the coin had a portrait of Constantine I .

 

How do you know the person lived a miserable live? Did this ancient roman know of the prosperity mankind would reach after the industrial revolution? Maybe he lived a happy and humble live and was wealthy enought to wear a coin as jewelry instead of spending it.
But what I have heard there are some more reasons for ancient people to put a hole in a coin. It seems especially sailors put together necklaces of their coinage so they wouldnt loose their coins on sea. Legionaries also mounted coins on their armor for different reasons - I would guess some hoped blessing of the god depicted on the coin he mounted on his armor. Also you could show your alligiance to the depicted emperor.
Anyway here my only holed ancient coin:
Emperor Justinian I. - Follis - Constantinople mint

 

It's a very charming (pardon the pun) relic! I haven't seen a bail like that soldered to a coin before.

I agree and generally don't mind if a coin is ex-jewelry or ever current-jewelry although I'd rather not see truly rare coins treated that way.

Here's a drachm acquired at a coin show for an absolute steal of a price. The coin is in very good condition and the mounting is reasonably attractive. I wear it often .


KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios
struck circa 322-319/8 BCE, Sardes mint
AR drachm in 14k bezel
Obv: head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, TI above bee
Ref: Price P97; ADM I Series XIV
set in a 14k gold pendant bezel

 

TIF shows a prong mount bezel of the general type that once held this Theodosius II solidus. Note the four damage marks at 12, 3, 6 and 9. I prefer to believe that being in jewelry saved this coin from being melted as junk gold. I bought it years ago for what was then a little above melt value. It would be interesting to know why it went in and out of service and what the mount was like.

 

Ex jewellery coins need some love too.





The cuts on the rim of of the Otho below are quite curious. I showed this coin to Jyrki Muona and he suggested that it might have been done to mount the coin to jewellery of some sort, though he had no idea how specifically.




Probus aureus below, ex Biaggi collection, also once holed (since repaired) and likely mounted.

 

One of my older coins that my wife gave me in a design of the cross. The coin had been in my possession for 20 years with an excellent obverse but a poor reverse. It is an Alexius SBCV-1920


Here it is now, a Christmas gift to me from her in 2019

 

Ouch, that nose ring looks painful..

 

Omg ancient coins as jewelry drives me nuts!

Please don’t misunderstand. I understand why people did it. The coins looked pretty & flashy. I also imagine having a silver or gold coin on one’s body acted as a form of prestige in being able to have enough money to wear it on one’s body.

Most average people needed every single bit of their money which often still wasn’t enough.


But the damage to the coins is what infuriates me. I saw a company that was turning Pre-1933 gold $20 Double Eagles into rings!

I know they were common dates and it does help lower the surviving population so remaining coins are technically rarer every time one is destroyed…but still..coins are art & artifacts. Don’t damage or destroy them.

 

Just to be clear THIS IS NOT MY COIN Some years ago I knew an individual who liked ancient coins but had little or no time to find them. He handed that job to me. For a few years I found coins for his collection including this one.
Hadrian Ae 37 Ephesus Obv bust right laureate and cuirassed. Rv Cult statue of Artemis of Ephesus standing within Temple of Artemis. 31.63 grms 37 mm Photo from CNG

He had indicated to me on a number of occasions he would like a coin featuring an image of this temple Despite the glaring problem presented by the obverse, the image of the temple was large and nicely detailed. Furthermore despite the obverse, the coin is still one of the nicer examples of this type. Also because of the obvious issue in the center of the obverse should be relatively inexpensive. He bought the coin. To this day I have no idea as to why the obverse was pierced in this manner. I cannot be certain whether the damage was ancient or modern. (looks modern to me) However it was done. Later when I was tasked with selling his collection I was faced with something of a conundrum. I talked to a representative at CNG and sent them an image and they thought the coin would do okay. Actually it did.
I do wish that the damage to the coin could have been averted, however it may have been responsible for the survival of the coin assuming that the damage is ancient. However it is as it is. It could be very well used for jewelry.

 

Ancient examples hit me different than modern examples, ancient examples have a history of their own.

What I really dislike is people using ancient coins as modern jewelry. Especially infuriating are people who are crafters that do it poorly and market them to teens as something mystical... or whatever.

Although I don't like (good) coins being used as jewelry, or like when the sale of ancient jewelry creates a market for more to be created... I have adopted some at rock bottom prices.

$5

Can't find the cost... but less than $10.

 

Years ago I found this in a jewelry store in North Carolina. I think I paid less than $100 for it and I purchased it as a birthday present for my wife. She spent six months in Rome as an art student and Rome is one of her favorite places. I think the piece was a souvenir of the "Grand Tour" and probably dates to early 1900. There is a pendant loop which could have been used for a cameo or another coin, either way that's speculation on my part.

 

And then there's ancient jewelry that looks like it was made from a coin, but isn't described as such. This silver ring is currently up for sale by CNG as lot 850 in its electronic auction closing in a few days (see https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-56AH54/roman-imperial-silver-ring-1st-2nd-centuries-ad):



Current
$475
Est.
$300
Bids: 14
TIMED AUCTION
Electronic Auction 511
CATEGORY
Antiquities
DESCRIPTION
ROMAN. Imperial. Silver ring. 1st-2nd centuries AD. (25 mm). A simple silver ring of one sheet of metal with central bezel of the laureate head of Augustus. Two laurel trees on either side flank the portrait. Toned, a few minor marks. Otherwise, about as made. Website shipping rates do not apply.

The laurel tree on either side of his portrait celebrates the honor granted to him by the Senate of placing laurel trees or branches before the entrance of his house. Augustus would remain a subject of interest into the 2nd century AD.

Closing Date and Time: 9 March 2022 at 14:43:00 ET.

I wasn't aware that CNG ordinarily includes a lot of antiquities in its auctions -- or has the expertise to authenticate them -- but there are more than 200 in the current auction. (There seems to be no stated provenance on most; the majority are rather low-end in terms of quality.)

I've never seen an ancient ring with a central bezel like this that looks like it was made from an Augustus denarius [edited to add: or cistophorus, since 25 mm. is presumably too large for a denarius]. As you can see, CNG gives no indication that that's how it was made. But how else is it likely to have been made?

 

Have a few ancient with holes that I have shared in some other threads.

On this 1 Ducat, the hole was made exactly were the mint mark was - or maybe there wasn't one - anyway, a very bad idea. Don't know how it could possibly be used

Franz Joseph I
1 Ducat, Austria 1882
20 mm, 3.479 g
KM 2267

Ob.: Oldest laureate head of Franz Joseph, facing right, with thick whiskers. FRANC•IOS•I•D•G•AUSTRIAE IMPERATOR
Rev.: Austria Coat of Arms superimposed upon a crowned double-headed Imperial eagle. HUNGAR• BOHEM•GAL•LOD• ILL•REX A•A• 1882 (King of Hungary, Bohemia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Illyria, Archduke of Austria)

 

Pardon the pun .. but my "relic" is as authentic as yours... I love it.

 

Ahh... but who should I attribute the photo to?

 

It is a really beautiful ring.
Don't you think that the oval shape doesn't really look like a denarius? I assume that if it was made from a denarius CNG would advertise it as such....

 

I agree, unless it was cut down from something larger, like a cistophorus, to fit. 25 mm. is probably too large for a denarius anyway. I mostly just wonder how it was made, because I've never seen ancient jewelry before that looks like that.