Ancient Greece 4th Century BC Hephaestus Signet Bronze Ring with Hermes

An antique intaglio signet ring. This is a gorgeous antique signet ring, created in England during the Edwardian period, back in the 1900. The ring has been crafted with smooth line...

An antique intaglio signet ring. This is a fabulous antique intaglio signet-ring created in America during the art-deco period, between the 1915 and 1920. The ring has been masterfu...

Clips-earrings with ancient gold coins from Phillip II of Macedon. A classic pair of earrings, mounted with two authentic ancient Greek gold coins...

Cufflinks with ancient Roman coins from Judaea. Great pair of rare ancient Judean (Jerusalem) coins minted during the period of the Roman Empire administration. These bronze coins were called Prutah and were minted in the city of Jerusalem around 58-59 AD. Cradled in the name of the Roman procurator Porcio Festo (59-62 AD) under the rule of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD). These genuine coins was carefully mounted in an elaborated cufflinks with double frames crafted in solid yellow gold of 14 karats with polished finish and fitted with movable hinged pressured T-bars for comfort fit. Obverse: Greek letters KAICAPOC (Caesar) and date LЄ (year 5=58/59 A.D), palm branch. Reverse: Greek letters NЄP WNO C (Nero) in wreath tied at the bottom with an X. Mint: Roman mint at Jerusalem. Numismatic Literature: Hendin-1351 (5th Edition); Hendin-653 (3rd Edition). Weight: Total of 17.8 Grams, (11.41 Dwt). Coins are approximate 2.45 Grams each. Measurements: 21.6 mm by 21.6 mm (0.85 x 0.85 Inches). Hallmarks: Stamped with the maker's mark and the 14kt gold assay mark. Porcius Festus was procurator of Judea from about AD 58 to 62, succeeding Antonius Felix. His exact time in office is not known. He inherited all of the problems of his predecessor in regard to the Roman practice of creating civic privileges for Jews. Only one other issue bedeviled his administration, the controversy between Agrippa II and the priests in Jerusalem regarding the wall erected at the temple to break the view of the new wing of Agrippa's palace. During his administration, Jewish hostility to Rome was greatly inflamed by the civic privileges issue. Feelings were aroused which played an important part in the closely following Jewish War of AD 66. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul had his final hearing before Festus. In Acts 25:12, Festus sought to induce Paul to go to Jerusalem for trial; Paul appealed to the Emperor. the appeal resulted in Paul being deported to Rome in the autumn of AD 58. Acts 25-26. Nero (Latin: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus;15 December 37 - 9 June 68) was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death. During his reign, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theaters built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain. Nero annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the Empire and began the First Roman-Jewish War. In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing assassination, he committed suicide on 9 June 68 (the first Roman emperor to do so) His death ended the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions, including that of his mother, and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother Britannicus. He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned" and as an early persecutor of Christians. He was known for having captured Christians to burn them in his garden at night for a source of light. This view is based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio, the main surviving sources for Nero's reign. Few surviving sources paint Nero in a favorable light. Some sources, though, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East. Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts. Prutah (Hebrew: פרוטה) is a word borrowed from the Mishnah and the Talmud, in which it means "a coin of smaller value". The word was probably derived originally from an Aramaic word with the same meaning. The prutah was an ancient copper Jewish coin...