Watch List notes:

Julia Domna. Augusta, AD 193-217. AV Aureus bezel set in ancient gold pendant (29 x 34 mm, 12.14 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, circa AD 198-207. IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / MA TER DEVM, Cybele, towered and draped, seated left on throne, holding branch in extended right hand and scepter in left, left elbow resting on drum, set on throne; on both sides of throne, lions seated left. RIC IV 564 (Septimius); Calicó 2628 (same obv. die as illustration); BMCRE (Septimius and Caracalla) 50 var. (no scepter); Adda 410 var. (same); Biaggi 1147-8 (same obv. die); Mazzini 122 (same obv. die). Minor scuffing on obverse of coin and on pendant, some bends in pendant. Good VF. Interesting and wearable.

Ever since their invention, coins have been used as objects of adornment as well as commerce. The practice gained particular popularity in the late Antonine and Severan eras of the Roman Empire, when gold aurei were frequently used, singly and in groups, as pendants in jewelry. The coins are frequently enclosed in elaborate gold openwork bezels, as seen here, a decorative technique known as opus interrasile.