Good Morning! I Need Your Help In Identifying This Pendant. Thank You!

I have this unmarked pendant that is sterling silver with a black stone that is in the shape of a coin. I don’t know if the stone is onyx, obsidian, jet or something else. I took it to my local jewelry store and they could not tell either. They said the stone is not glass or plastic and from back it looks like onyx, but they are thrown off by the imprint on the front of the stone. Anyway, I am hoping that someone will be able to give me some kind of info. I got this piece from a passed relative who use to travel to many different parts of the world when she was a younger adult. Thank you in advance for all your help and stay healthy and safe.

 

Scarf ring, rather than pendant. I think it's white metal too. The insert is in the style of a Roman coin.

 

Despite what it says, that is not Nero and P MAX is something you see on medals of popes. Here is Nero's coinage:

https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/ngc-ancients-coinage-emperor-nero/

How did the jeweller determine it is not glass? It looks to me like a mold was made of a design meant to resemble a Roman coin, cobbled together of various elements & then glass impressions were made to set as jewellery. Agree with OBB that it does not appear to be genuine silver.

The value is that it is a memento of your relative; it is not highly valuable in itself.

 

Here's an original Roman coin of the type that would have (loosely) inspired your piece.

Debora

 

Imho the piece looks cast rather than carved especially looking at the letters and it looks like glass or maybe resin.

 

I think probably glass. These were madly popular in the late 70s/early 80s.

 

I think that spiral design heads it into the 1980s.

Debora

 

Cabouchon did a lot of those replica Roman coin pieces. Not sure if this is one of them though?

 

Thank you all for responding! The item was test silver and the reason they figure it was not glass is that they tries to scratch it with a sharp object and it would not scratch and they did the hot pin test first to make sure it was not plastic. all this they did in front of me.

 

next time they do a hot pin test in front of you..............Run Away......Run Away FAST !!!!!!

 

<shuddering at hot pin>

@KSW - I've still got quite a bit of Cabouchon stuff, it was lovely quality.

 

Yes, I’ve got a few bits here somewhere. This isn’t Cabouchon though if it’s tested as silver.

 

Terminology difference here? A Cabouchon is a convex cut stone usually referred to a man's bald head.

 

There is a brand that I think may only have been sold in the UK called Cabouchon.

 

Spelling difference here? That is a cabochon., no?

 

Depends on where you look up the information. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Cabouchon

 

This was my Cabouchon bracelet.

 

I'm willing to believe it is not plastic, even without the hot needle test that would have left a melted pinhole in the material if it had been plastic.

Glass is not that much softer than black onyx, which is a form of quartz. A sharp object that is not applied hard enough will not scratch glass. A sharp object applied with enough force will scratch onyx. The difference in pressure needed is not huge.

Did the jeweller do this by hand? Was he really willing to leave a scratch across the back to prove glass? Would he have risked scratching stone? If he had made a scratch, could he have been perfectly certain he had not scratched hard enough to scratch onyx? It's a very imperfect, imprecise test. I can imagine the jeweller, not wanting to scratch stone, not scratching hard enough for glass.

Lastly, does your jeweller really believe this was cut in relief, with that stippled background, in stone?



If it were an intaglio, with the design ground down into the surface I could see the possibility of stone. But it is a cameo meant to look like an ancient coin. This would be very complicated to cut in stone, very easy to mold in glass. I'm afraid I do not think your jeweller's testing is reliable.

 

And it probably had a cast of a genuine coin for the clasp, not something made up as here.