Sovereign jewellery: From Grace Kelly in Bulgari to Gen-Z layering, gold coins are precious in more ways than one

Most recently, Taylor Swift has been spotted wearing an antique coin pendant on a heavy gold chain and most famously, Brad Pitt wears a sovereign signet ring. Most regrettably, the sovereign signet rings of the 1980s resembled knuckle-dusters.

“Sovereign jewellery had a moment in the 80s and 90s, but it wasn’t popular with Millennials,” says Alyce Ketcher of Courtville Antique & Vintage Jewellers.

When mounting a coin as jewellery it’s super important to do so in a way that doesn’t devalue the coin itself

The male sovereign jewellery of the 1980s took a bit of getting over. It began as a London version of gangster chic, then filtered down to chav culture.

Now, sovereign jewellery has been reinvented by Gen Z collectors too young to remember the 80s. They’re wearing the coins as necklaces, brooches, and rings.

“Yellow gold is the metal of the moment,” Ketcher says. “Sovereigns and half-sovereigns have a really beautiful rich gold colouration. They make wonderful jewellery. We try and give people an idea of how to use older pieces in a way that works today.”

Sovereign jewellery is a wearable collectable, that would otherwise be sitting in drawer. For collectors, this is like having your cake and eating it.

A sovereign is a British bullion coin with the head of the reigning monarch on one side and the design of Saint George and the Dragon on the reverse. The grisly scene was designed by the Italian sculptor Benedetto Pistrucci in 1816. When the coins are mounted as jewellery, Saint George is usually the side that’s visible, while the monarch is worn towards the body.

Sovereigns have been minted in their current form since 1817 and are popular with investors and collectors.

A full sovereign contains a set amount (0.2354 troy oz) of 22kt gold; a half sovereign is half the size and contains half the amount of gold. Their value varies day by day, depending on the price of gold. At the time of writing, a full sovereign is worth almost €600 and a half-sovereign around €300.

A lot of people have one tucked away. They keep them because they have value, but they have no particular use for them

As collectables, their value may also be influenced by the date and condition of the coin. “There are some real outliers,” Ketcher says. “They can be worth tens of thousands because only a few were made in that particular year.” If you’re lucky enough to have one of these, you may not want to convert it into jewellery.

“When mounting a coin as jewellery it’s super important to do so in a way that doesn’t devalue the coin itself.” If the coin is valuable, it would be better worn as a necklace than mounted as a ring. “The hand gets a lot more wear than a pendant.”

Sovereign and half-sovereign coins often form part of an inheritance. Most of the time, the recipients don’t know what to do with them.

When Ketcher moved to Ireland from her native Australia, she was astonished at the number of clients who came in with sovereign and half-sovereign coins. “A lot of people have one tucked away. They keep them because they have value, but they have no particular use for them.”

One of Courtville’s recent clients got around this problem in an interesting way. “A woman came in on behalf of her father,” Ketcher explains. “He had a collection of sovereign coins and wanted to have one mounted as a pendant for each of his grandchildren.

“It’s really sweet because it’s something of value but it’s also something they get to keep as a reminder of their grandfather.”

Some of the coins had been kept in packages marked with their original price. “He had bought them for £59 and they were now worth €390. That’s how much their value appreciated in his lifetime. He had them in a side drawer for decades, and now his grandchildren get to enjoy them.”

Full or half sovereigns can be mounted as pendants, brooches or rings. They come in antique, vintage and modern settings. “We have both options. The modern mounts are usually polished with little or no engraving. The coin is the detail in the piece. Both Victorian and 1980s mounts are a lot more intricate.”

A modern mount can cost between €500 and €1,000. Older mounts range from €1,000 to €3,000, depending on the level of detail. If you provide your own sovereign coin, whether it is half or full, a pendant mounting in 9kt yellow gold starts at €395 from Courtville.​

See courtville.ie.