$1,600.00
In the first half of the 14th century, Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos introduced the basilikon, a silver coin largely created to pay mercenaries. Although it was new to the Byzantines, the design itself was not entirely original— Andronikos was such a fanboy of the Venetian ducat, he simply copied the coin and swapped out depictions of St. Mark and Doge of Venice for likenesses of himself and his son/co-emperor. (However, he did keep imagery of Christ on the obverse of the coin, lest his pettiness warrant divine wrath.) He produced the basilikon for a few decades before its retirement in 1367. Now the basilikon lives only in the annals of history, or of course, encased in the gold of this stunning pendant.
