Enamelled Coins

Obverse of Enamelled 1887 Jubilee Head Silver Crown

St. George & Dragon on Reverse of Enamelled 1822 George IV Silver Crown

Reverse of Enamelled 1887 Victoria Jubilee Head Sixpence

Obverse of Enamelled 1899 Old Head Sixpence

Reverse of Enamelled 1899 Old Head Sixpence

The use of coins as jewellry dates back almost as long as those of coins themselves. In Britain, the enamelling of coins became particularly popular in the 1880s. In 1886, a Birmingham jeweller called Edwin Steel founded a company that specialised in the manufacture of enammelled coin jewellery (mostly brooches).
Edwin, and later his son Henry, where perhaps the most well known of the skilled Victorian and Edwardian craftsmen who produced these popular items. The 1887 Jubilee Head coin issues were particularly popular as host coins. Craftsmen such as Steel would carve out parts of the coin and fill them with enammel to highlight the design. Done well, this was a highly-skilled process.
The manufacture of enammelled coin jewellery became less popular towards the end of the Edwardian Period (1902 - 1910/14). In 1920, the industry was effectively killed off when the 1920 Gold and Silver (Export Control) Act was passed, which prohibited the deliberate mutilation of coins or for their use as anything other than currency.
Today, 'enammelled' coins are still made, but they are almost always of far inferior quality to those produced during the golden age of enammelled coins of the late Victorian period. These professionally enammelled coins are often highly sought after by specialist collectors. We don't typically sell enammelled coins, but we are interested in acquiring them when we can.

Coins Wanted
We make an active market in almost all world coins, including enamelled coins. If you have any of these coins to sell, please contact us, or post them to us for appraisal and offer.