Non può dirsi ricco chi non ha mai toccato un solido d’oro (Temistio II, 30c). Monete e gioielli in età tardoantica

Coin set jewellery was particularly popular in the Roman world during the 3rd century AD, but it continued to be appreciated in late antiquity when new types were introduced and artefacts were created that combined exceptional sumptuousness, extraordinary artistic quality and considerable economic value. A further characteristic element is represented by the increasingly wide acceptance of the transformation of gold coins into ornaments by the populations settled beyond the limes. They created jewels with their own peculiarities, which continued to be adopted in the Roman-Barbarian kingdoms after their settlement in the imperial territory. The essay presents and discusses some little-known jewels set with gold coins or multiples from the Theodosian age, particularly significant in terms of their appearance and their monetary element. They are a pendant and a brooch from the American Ferrell Collection, a fragment of a necklace from the Leu Numismatik auction 71 (1997), and a necklace found around Lodi in the 19th century and now kept in the Musei Civici in Pavia.