A small coated conductor coil (central field 1 T at 200 A) was constructed and tested in order to evaluate the benefit and the possible disadvantages of non insulated, double pancake construction, in particular regarding quench protection. The insert coil consists of three double pancakes without turn to turn insulation, and it was impregnated with beeswax. The coil was equipped with voltage taps on each pancake, thermocouples and a quench heater. Quench tests were carried out because quench protection is one of the main issues in developing coil technology for coated conductors. Quenches were induced either by a heater or by exceeding the coil critical current; in all cases the quench protection system was able to detect the quench.