Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

An enamelled serpent and miniature medal stickpin, the George IV coronation (?) miniature medal by J.-B. Merlen, bust left, rev. crown within wreath and motto ‘God save our beloved King’, within a blue enamelled coiled serpent stickpin mount, in fitted case signed ‘Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co.’, together with another of the same medal, unmounted, in original fitted case (damaged), medal diameters 10mm. £150-£200

Jean Baptiste Merlen (1769 - 1850) was a French engraver and medallist. After working at the Paris Mint, in 1820 he moved to the Royal Mint in London. He is most famous for the obverse portrait of George IV used on British coinage from 1821, after a portrait by Sir Francis Chantrey; the king had disliked the ‘bloated’ portrait, by Pistrucci, used on 1820-1825 coinage. Merlen also designed several coin reverses, the most widely used being a crowned shield surrounded by a wreath, variants of which were used in issues of William IV and Queen Victoria. He is recorded as having produced surprisingly few medals.