A unique pure gold and diamond coin is up for auction at Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's in London. The sale, scheduled for later this month, has already attracted the attention of collectors.
The dinner plate-sized coin is crafted from pure 24-karat gold, weighing 3.61 kg and encrusted with 6,426 natural diamonds totaling 483.57 carats. It was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate her platinum jubilee. More than 80 artisans from around the world worked on this masterpiece.
The coin, 235 mm in diameter and 30 mm thick, is composed of 11 smaller coins. Five of them feature portraits of Elizabeth II, while others incorporate royal motifs and symbols of power, as well as her image and the six virtues—truth, justice, mercy, courage, victory, and constancy—taken from the Queen Victoria Memorial.
The coin's international provenance reflects the Queen's global heritage. Diamonds were sourced and cut in Australia, South Africa, and Canada and certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The coin's design was developed in the UK, refined in Sri Lanka and England, engraved in Singapore, minted in Germany and the Netherlands, and final assembly in India. The £10,000 coin was issued in 2022 by The East India Company Bullion Ltd (a manufacturer of commemorative and collector's coins, named after the long-defunct East India Company, which played a crucial role in establishing British imperialism in India). That same year, the coin was independently valued at £16 million.
Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's, an auction house specializing in coins and stamps, auctions the coin on September 25 with an estimate of £2 million to £3 million (US$2.7 million to US$4.0 million).
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
