What an absolute treat this was in so many ways. The age of it. The detail. The cracks on the edges. The differences in thickness. It was a good challenge to do it justice and to make a mount that looked the part. I have to admit my inner anthropology history nerd was thrilled.

I chose the use Argentium Silver to make the mount for several reasons. Given the age of the coin it should not be rubbed “clean” or polished as it is far too precious to risk rubbing away detail which made Argentium the perfect choice. Argentium is 935 and alloyed with Germanium rather than copper which makes it very bright, with a fabulous lustre, and you can work harden it with low heat in a kiln or oven.

I imagined if I were to wear it I would want to flip it over to see both sides as often as I liked so I made a swivel mechanism in the bail, the part of the pendant that connects to the necklace. It was very fiddly doing the final fit I must have filed and checked the mount 100 times before setting it into place.

Fortunately the owner likes it as much as I do! Too bad I had to give it back…..