Great Britain 1664 guinea Fr-288
This specimen was lot 1638 in Sincona sale 82 (Zürich, May 2023), where it sold for 2,500 CHF (about US$3,346 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Charles II. 1660-1685. Guinea 1664, London. Second laureate bust, elephant below long pointed truncation. Sehr selten (Very rare). NGC AU Details. Kleine Kratzer, aus Fassung (Small scratches, removed from jewelry). From auction St. James's 10, November 2008, lot 752." The first series of gold coins of Charles II reverted to the old practice of not dating them and come in denominations of unite, double crown and crown. When milled coinage was introduced in 1663, these denominations were retired in favor of the guinea, its fractions and multiples. The guinea would be the basis for all gold issues until the reform of 1817 and took its name from the source of the original gold, the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa. The second laureate bust was used 1664-73 with or without an elephant below the bust.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 8.35 g, 0.917 fine gold; this specimen 8.10 g.
Catalog reference: Spink 3343, Bull 233 (R3), Fr-288.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 82, British Collection, Part 4, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2023.
Link to: