A Coin Drenched in Over 6,000 Diamonds Pays Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
On the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death, a large gold and diamond coin has been made in her honor
Queen Elizabeth II is being paid a diamond-studded tribute on the one-year anniversary of her death. On Monday, London-based luxury lifestyle brand East India Company unveiled a new gold coin, produced in her honor, clad in 6,426 GIA certified natural diamonds.
Roughly the size of a large dinner plate or a basketball, the piece, appropriately named “The Crown Coin,” has been crafted from nearly 8 pounds of gold.
With a diameter of over 9.6 inches, the special, solitary luxury object features a collection of 11 24-carat gold coins, with the centerpiece coin weighing in at over 2 pounds.
Six of the surrounding coins represent the guiding virtues as seen on the Victoria Memorial outside of Buckingham Palace, such as courage, justice, truth, victory, charity, and consistency. The five others chronologically showcase the Queen’s portrait clockwise, including the Machin portrait and the Jody Clark portrait. The converse face of the masterpiece reveals a center coin from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee of last year, including the memorable inscription of the 70 years of her reign, from 1952 to 2022.
On one side, the abundance of diamonds is arranged to simulate the United Kingdom’s flag while the flip side diamond setting was inspired by the late monarch’s intricate tiaras. Collectively, the two-billion-year-old stones are estimated to weigh over 475 carats.
The one-of-a-kind commemorative piece has been described as a “objet d’art” by the company and is engraved by quotes from Queen Elizabeth. On side reads, “With age comes experience and that can be a virtue if properly used. By being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together.” On the other, the border includes an inscription from her first televised broadcast in 1957 –“Throughout all my life and with all my heart I will strive to be worthy of your trust. The things I have here before promised I will perform and keep so help me God.”
The Chairman and CEO of the East India Company, Sanjiv Mehta estimates the tribute to be worth “around $23 million” based on the quality of the materials and lengthy crafting processes, which called in artisans from the UK and India to Singapore, Germany, and Sri Lanka and took over a year to produce in partnership with the British Overseas Territory of St Helena. The project was already in motion before Queen Elizabeth died at the age of 96 last September.
The majestic homage may very well be among the most valuable coins in history, with its estimated price exceeding that of the rare 1933 US “Double Eagle” coin which yielded $18.9 million at Sotheby’s New York in June 2021 and now holds the Guinness World Record as the most expensive coin ever sold at auction.
