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A RARE gold medal discovered by a jeweller is going under the hammer.

The 20ct gold Life Saving Medal made by Tiffany & Co was uncovered in a pile of old gold by a jeweller in Old Swan.

Peter Edwards, of WJ Edwards on Prescot Road, found the rare medal in a leather pouch amongst broken gold jewellery.

After much research, he discovered the medal had been awarded to Alfred N Beavan, the captain of the steamship ‘Birka’ which sailed from Liverpool in 1911.

The medal was presented after Beavan rescued three seamen from their sinking ship ‘Theresa’ which was found in heavy seas 120 miles off St Michael’s in the Azores.

The seamen from Spain had set sail to fish off the North West coast of Africa but they arrived as shipwrecked mariners in New York onboard the Birka on 2 August 1911.

Peter Edwards, who runs the family business with his sister Margot Walker, said:“We found it in an assortment of old gold that we were going to get rid off, we spotted the leather pouch and couldn’t believe it when we looked inside.

“The pouch has protected the coin so it was perfectly preserved, we spotted it was by Tiffany & Co the old jewellers and I started searching on the internet. I contacted the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York but it’s now the Seaman’s Mission and it was through them that we learned the medal had quite a history to it. It dates back to August 1911 which was a year before the famous Titanic sunk in 1912.”

The medal, designed by CH Lovett, is up for auction at Birmingham’s Fellows & Sons and is expected to fetch between £2,000-3,000.

It will be sold alongside an account of the rescue in the New York Times.

Stephen Whittaker, managing partner, Fellows & Sons, said: “This medal is unique and carries an interesting history. Currently there is a tendency for jewellers to scrap gold but I am delighted they spotted the potential interest of this medal for collectors both in the UK and the USA.”

How the medal ended up back in a jewellers in Liverpool is a mystery but Mr Edwards thinks the medal was pledged at his family’s pawnbrokers.

His family business dates back three generations, but Mr Edwards said the medal was the greatest find he knew of.

He added: “We get all sorts handed in, bits of old gold among false legs, pocket watches and compasses. Liverpool’s strong maritime history means we get a lot of navigation aids but we’ve never had a medal like this.”

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The new Tiffany & Co. store at University Village is opening today, Friday, Sept. 4 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m., followed by an open house with Tiffany executives.

I was given a sneak peek of the store on Wednesday and was flattered to be invited to a cocktail party Thursday night for members of the media and VIP shoppers. The store doesn’t disappoint, with stunning decor that perfectly complements the gorgeous Tiffany jewelry on display.

I brought my mom to the event, and as we were parking she wondered aloud whether anyone is really shopping for high-ticket jewelry and questioned how well Tiffany would do at University Village.

I didn’t say anything at the time, because I knew that once she stepped foot into the store, she would fall under the spell of the new Tiffany concept.
What they’ve done right is taken their jewelry out of the cases and put it into the hands of women, most of whom can’t resist the bling. Additionally, as I mentioned in my Daily Find about the store, Tiffany has balanced their higher-ticket items with more affordable pieces, making it possible for many more shoppers to consider making a purchase there. The thing about a Tiffany piece is that it’s bound to be passed on from generation to generation. Plus, they’ve got such a huge inventory, there’s something there for everyone.

Sure enough, guess who walked out of the store with a brand new sterling silver Tiffany Key around her neck? That’s right, my mom. Bless her heart, my mom is a consummate shopper and a great bellwether for how well Tiffany will fare at University Village.