Rare 17th-Century Irish Marriage Locket and Hidden Italian Gold Coin Shatter Expectations at London Auction

A remarkable piece of lost history that bridges seventeenth-century Ireland, continental European trade, and the clandestine lives of Catholic landowners has finally found a new home. A silver locket crafted in 1660 to commemorate the marriage of Robert Coppinger and his wife Margarett—members of a prominent Catholic landowning family in County Cork, Ireland—recently crossed the auction block at Roseberys Fine & Decorative art sale in London. Accompanied by a rare 1619 gold coin tucked securely inside its casing, the historic artifact captivated bidders and far surpassed its pre-sale expectations, ultimately fetching £8,528 against an estimated range of £3,000 to £5,000.

The journey of the locket reads like a chapter from an adventure novel, marked by centuries of concealment, an accidental rediscovery by a farm laborer mid-nineteenth century, and a paper trail of meticulous historical documentation. According to Roseberys Auctions London, the oval-shaped silver locket was originally commissioned to celebrate the union of Robert Coppinger and Margarett Coppinger, whose maiden name was Roche. The artistry lavished upon the piece reflects both the deep personal significance of the union and the religious devotion of the family during a tumultuous era in Irish history.

On its front exterior, the locket is adorned with a delicate and intricate engraving of the Nativity. The reverse side features an equally detailed depiction of the Adoration of the Magi, accompanied by the clear text reading "ROBT COPPINGER & MARGARETT COPPINGER als. ROCHE." The use of "als." serves as an abbreviation for "alias," a common historical convention used in legal and genealogical records of the period to denote a wife’s maiden name alongside her married surname.

However, the true marvel of the artifact lies hidden within its sealed chamber. Opening the silver casing reveals an additional engraving of the Crucifixion, alongside a remarkably preserved gold coin: a 2 doppia struck in 1619 from the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza during the reign of Duke Ranuccio I Farnese.

The inclusion of this specific high-value foreign coin carries profound historical resonance. As specialists at Roseberys noted in their press release, high-value coinage of this caliber was frequently carried as jewelry or portable wealth by affluent Europeans during the seventeenth century. For a Catholic landowning family in County Cork navigating a complex and often hostile political and social landscape, possessing such liquid, internationally recognized assets held immense practical and symbolic value. The doppia circulated widely as a trade gold coin, making it a powerful statement of status, commerce, and faith.

The exact circumstances surrounding how the locket came to be lost remain shrouded in mystery. It is impossible to know whether it was dropped accidentally, hidden deliberately during a period of religious or political unrest, or lost during a family displacement. What is certain, however, is that the locket remained buried and forgotten for nearly two centuries.

Its long slumber beneath the earth finally came to an end around 1850. While working near the historic castle of Mashanaglass in County Cork, a local farm laborer struck an obstruction with his spade. That obstruction turned out to be the silver locket.

The unearthing of the artifact was not without casualty. When the laborer struck the ground, the force of the spade impacted the locket, leaving a noticeable physical scar on the exterior silver casing. Yet, in a remarkable twist of fate, the gold coin sealed tightly within the locket remained completely untouched, shielded by the very metal container that housed it. As Anna Evans, Head of Works of Art at Roseberys, observed regarding the miraculous preservation, the survival of the delicate gold coin is entirely owed to the locket itself. Sealed safely inside the casing, the coin was protected from the spade’s impact that fateful day near Mashanaglass, allowing a pristine piece of numismatic history to endure alongside the damaged marriage token.

Following its rediscovery in 1850, the locket was brought to the local parish rector. Recognizing the immense historical and genealogical importance of the find, the rector arranged for the artifact to be restored and subsequently returned to a living descendant of the Coppinger family. This local stewardship ensured that the physical object was not scattered or forgotten among private antiquities dealers of the Victorian era.

When the locket finally arrived at the Roseberys Fine & Decorative auction on October 1, it was presented alongside a remarkable archive of historical provenance that traced its journey through the nineteenth century. The auction lot was paired with a physical copy of The Cork Historical and Archaeological Society Journal from 1895, which had published a detailed contemporary report on the artifact’s discovery beneath the castle ruins.

Adding even greater academic and institutional weight to the offering was a handwritten letter dated 1892 from the Keeper of Coins at the British Museum. This correspondence provided formal authentication and identification of the 1619 gold 2 doppia housed inside, cementing the item’s dual importance as both a masterpiece of seventeenth-century goldsmithing and a significant numismatic discovery.

Beyond its romantic backstory and family provenance, the coin itself commands immense value among collectors and historians. Surviving examples of the 1619 2 doppia are exceedingly rare. Throughout history, gold coins of high denomination were routinely melted down, recast, or reminted to serve newer regimes or settle pressing debts, making intact survivorship the exception rather than the rule. When genuine 1619 doppias do appear on the market, they typically surface only at major international sales and command exceptionally high prices due to their scarcity and historical demand.

This particular specimen proved to be no exception to the rule. Bidding for the locket and its hidden treasure quickly surpassed the initial pre-sale auction estimate of £3,000 to £5,000. As competitive interest drove up the price among specialized collectors and institutional buyers, the hammer finally fell at £8,528, reflecting the intense market desire for artifacts that possess not only material value but also a fully traceable, highly romanticized personal history.

As Anna Evans remarked while discussing the lot prior to the sale, very few historical objects manage to survive across the centuries while retaining such a vivid, palpable sense of the specific people and places to which they originally belonged. From its creation in 1660 as a tangible pledge of matrimony between Robert and Margarett Coppinger in County Cork, through its turbulent loss and dramatic unearthing by a nineteenth-century farm laborer, to its meticulous documentation by Victorian scholars and the British Museum, the locket’s path is exceptionally well-recorded.

With the successful conclusion of the Roseberys auction, this extraordinary physical testament to seventeenth-century Irish life, European trade, and enduring human devotion has entered a new chapter in its long and storied existence, secured once more in the hands of a private collector who appreciates the profound journey locked within its silver walls.