VOCABULARY TERM: ROLLED GOLD

Rolled Gold. A kind of gold filled – clad gold to a base metal, then rolled to required thickness – but of a gold content less than 1/20th total weight. There is more gold on a rolled gold object than one that is goldplated, even heavy coldplate but less than one that is gold filled. Rolled gold is abbreviated R.G.P. This is usually edgelettered on a medallic item.

History of rolled gold. The first use of rolled gold was in 1789 when newly-hired Jean-Pierre Droz used Barton's metal to strike the George III Recovery Medal in 1789 (Brown 311) at Matthew Boulton's factory. Barton's metal was formed by rolling strips of silver or gold on a copper core, with adhesion much like that used for sheffield plate. Perhaps both Boulton and Droz were experimenting with new metal compositions as well as building minting equipment prior to the establishment of the Soho Mint a year later.

To read the complete entry on the Newman Numismatic Portal, see:
Rolled Gold (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionarydetail/516670)

 

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