Weighing 3.61 kilograms of pure gold and set with 6,462 natural diamonds, a one-of-a-kind coin created for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee has arrived on the auction block. Officially issued by Saint Helena as a £10,000 coin, its 2022 appraisal valued it at £16 million. And yet, at Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s auction on September 25 in London, it’s expected to sell for just £2–3 million.
Yes—you read that right. A dinner plate–sized masterpiece, crafted by more than 83 artisans across eight countries, dripping with diamonds, could fetch barely one-sixth of its supposed worth.
The Global Story Behind the Coin
Every corner of the Commonwealth left its mark. The diamonds were mined and polished in Australia, South Africa, and Canada, then certified by. Britain handled the design; Sri Lanka and England refined it; Singapore engraved it; Germany and the Netherlands minted it; and final assembly took place in India. Measuring 235mm across and 30mm thick, the coin also contains 11 smaller embedded coins, five of which feature effigies of Elizabeth II. Others celebrate tiaras and virtues drawn from the Queen Victoria Memorial.
In a nod to modernity, the auction will even accept cryptocurrency bids.
The Harsh Reality for Natural Diamonds
And yet—here’s the uncomfortable truth. Despite its scale, craftsmanship, and natural diamonds, the piece enters the market at a fraction of its appraised value. Why? Because the luxury world is shifting. Natural diamonds, once the ultimate flex, are facing a reckoning. Younger buyers are turning to lab-grown diamonds, not only for affordability but also for sustainability, ethics, and sheer cultural relevance.
A coin encrusted with thousands of mined stones may sparkle, but for Gen Z, it feels more like an artifact of excess than a vision of the future. Contrast that with the booming lab-grown diamond market size, projected to reach $74.45B by 2032, and the message is clear: value is no longer measured only in rarity, but in values.
What This Coin Symbolizes
Ironically, a project designed to immortalize the Queen’s global legacy now highlights the fragile status of mined diamonds in the luxury hierarchy. As auction houses accept cryptocurrency, consumers are redefining what wealth and permanence mean.
This coin may glitter with natural stones, but the industry’s next crown jewel is already being grown in labs.