Vtg Crown Silver Enameled Engraved Coin Signed DC Jewelry Pin Brooch Love Token

A Beautiful Vintage Enameled British Crown. The coin is probably over 200 years old and enameled and engraved just after that in my opinion, late 19th century. The condition: crazing evident with solid enamel containing chips, with semi glossy surface, done in 3 colors! The obverse is with light rainbow steel blue, red russet yellows and gray patina. A beautiful gothic design, I see a M engraved with more. Old C Clasp with working pin. This is a very unusual and most delightful piece of Victorian jewelry, made from a silver half crown of Queen Victoria. The amount of time and quality of craftsmanship that went into making this brooch is incredible, since before being enameled the coin had to be hand engraved and the reverse design cut out. These recesses were then filled with paste made from ground up glass that was then heated in a kiln until the glass melted and fused. These brooches were fashionable for a time during the turn of the nineteenth century.

Love Tokens have been made since Medieval Times. In the 18th & 19th Centuries, coins were still used as Love Tokens. They were hand made; created by young men to give to their sweethearts and in some instances were given by soldiers and sailors before the went abroad in case they were to die. Love tokens vary in size and all types of coins are used.

Each token is unique, no two are alike. In Victorian Times they were fashionable to both men and women. They were suspended by necklaces, bracelets and watch chains, some were carried in purses & pockets as a remembrance of Love and Wealth. The poorer class made tokens from copper or bronze coins until a silver coin could be acquired.

The wealthy man chose a silver or gold coin to make his. These Tokens were simple to make, although a highly decorative piece was usually achieved. The coin is rubbed until one or both sides are flat, the maker then engraved or stamped their own words pattern or initials onto the blank side. When considering that most men who did this were. Low skilled and illiterate, some of the results are quite remarkable. Wonderful High Grade 1834 Enamel Coin. There seems to be a little confusion as to the origin of enameled coins, and the subsequent artists who created and designed them. The craft sprang from the Victorian love of unusual jewelery. Enamel buttons were popular, and the skills of enameling could be transferred to coins. Being decorative and not functional, these could feature elaborate designs. The main year of production was 1887, Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee "The magic year of enameling".

The year saw a huge growth in the demand and production for Royal memorabilia. The majority of enameled coins are based on the existing design of the original coin. The first task in the production process was to take out all the background of the coin, leaving the letters and pattern in. In some cases the letters and design were even removed. The enamel was then applied in layers, fired and then ground down to enable the colors to come through in varying shades.

This process was often done in more than one stage to enable the intricate colors and painted effect to be perfected. It was most usual to enamel on just one side of the coin, but some coins are enameled on both sides.

These are considerably rarer, and leaves the question: How did they get the enamel to flow on the second side without the first side dropping of? As it was assumed that all enamel would fuse at about the same temperature.

The art has now disappeared, so we cannot answer this question. Popular designs included leaves and flower, coats of arms, Britannia and of course Queen Victoria. In some the bust of the monarch are completely removed and replaced in enamels.

The coin pictured top right by an unknown designer features many of the popular designs in one coin. The rarest enamel coins are those of gold. Few examples can be seen today, and those that do exist are mainly are made from dated sovereigns. Two of the finest coin enamelers were William Henry Probert and the Steel family. The earliest enameled coins were thought to have been produced by William Henry Probert in his Birmingham workshop.

His initial designs were very plain with no more than three colors used. However, the coins were expertly engraved.

As the coins became more popular his designs became more colorful an elaborate. Pictured above left is an early coin by William Henry Probert.

Edward Steele, was a well known engraver and enameler, who started a venture in his own name designing enameled coins. His son Edwin and later Edwin's son Henry carried on the business of manufacturing coin jewelery. Edwin's enamel coins are thought to be the finest, with engraving under the enamel to enable light to filter through the enamel.

This created superb variations to the reflections. Pictured above right is an enamelled coin featuring Queen Victoria by Edwin Steel. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions.

This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Vintage & Antique Jewelry\Brooches & Pins". The seller is "mrae7" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Wallis and Futuna, Gambia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Poland, Oman, Suriname, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Argentina, Guinea-Bissau, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Bhutan, Senegal, Togo, Ireland, Qatar, Burundi, Netherlands, Iraq, Slovakia, Slovenia, Equatorial Guinea, Thailand, Aruba, Sweden, Iceland, Macedonia, Belgium, Israel, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Benin, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Italy, Swaziland, Tanzania, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Panama, Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, Switzerland, Djibouti, Chile, China, Mali, Botswana, Republic of Croatia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Portugal, Malta, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Cayman Islands, Paraguay, Saint Helena, Cyprus, Seychelles, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Australia, Austria, Sri Lanka, Gabon Republic, Zimbabwe, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Norway, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Kiribati, Turkmenistan, Grenada, Greece, Haiti, Greenland, Yemen, Afghanistan, Montenegro, Mongolia, Nepal, Bahamas, Bahrain, United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Angola, Western Samoa, France, Mozambique, Namibia, Peru, Denmark, Guatemala, Solomon Islands, Vatican City State, Sierra Leone, Nauru, Anguilla, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Cameroon, Guyana, Azerbaijan Republic, Macau, Georgia, Tonga, San Marino, Eritrea, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Morocco, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Mauritania, Belize, Philippines, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Western Sahara, Colombia, Spain, Estonia, Bermuda, Montserrat, Zambia, South Korea, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Albania, Ethiopia, Monaco, Niger, Laos, Ghana, Cape Verde Islands, Moldova, Madagascar, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Lebanon, Liberia, Bolivia, Maldives, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Nigeria, Mauritius, Saint Lucia, Jordan, Guinea, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Turks and Caicos Islands, Chad, Andorra, Romania, Costa Rica, India, Mexico, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Lithuania, Trinidad and Tobago, Malawi, Nicaragua, Finland, Tunisia, Luxembourg, Uganda, Brazil, Turkey, Tuvalu, Germany, Egypt, Latvia, Jamaica, Niue, South Africa, Brunei Darussalam, Honduras.

Features: Engraved
Base Metal: Sterling Silver
Main Stone Color: Multicolor
Handmade: Yes
Metal: Silver
Main Stone Shape: Round
Vintage: Yes
Era: Georgian (Pre-1837)
Country/Region of Manufacture: Great Britain
Material: Enamel
Year Manufactured: Pre-1920
Main Stone: No Stone
Shape: Round
Jewelry Department: Fine
Brand: Unbranded
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Antique: Yes
Color: Multicolor
Signed: Yes
Metal Purity: 925
Type: Brooch
Original/Reproduction: Original