Great Britain 1673 2 guineas
This specimen was lot 134 in Sincona sale 75 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 20,000 CHF (about US$24,276 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Grossbritannien | Königreich. Charles II. 1660-1685. 2 Guineas 1673, London. First bust. Von grösster Seltenheit. NGC XF40. (Of the highest rarity.)" Oliver Cromwell's death in September 1658 left a leadership vacuum which was quickly filled by inviting prince Charles back from exile to become Charles II. The first series of gold coins of his regime 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. This type is listed for 1664-73 and this s a rare date. None are known with the elephant and castle below the bust, indicating gold fom Africa.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 16.70 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 16.53 g.
Catalog reference: KM 425.1, Spink 3333. Bull 209. Fr-- (cf. 284).
- 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 75, SINCONA British Collection - Part 2, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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