Great Britain 1678 5 guineas Fr-281
This specimen was lot 1162 in Sincona sale 79 (Zürich, October 2022), where it sold for 40,000 CHF (about US$47,940 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN | Königreich, Charles II. 1660-1685. 5 Guineas 1678/7, London. TRICESIMO. First laureate bust. NGC AU55. Nice gold toning." 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 first laureate bust was used 1668-78 on the five guineas with or without an elephant below the bust. The elephant was used only 1668-69, 1675 and 1677 to mark gold obtained from Africa.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 41.70 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 41.45 g.
Catalog reference: KM 430.1, Spink 3328A, Bull 188, Fr-281.
- 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 79, British Collection, Part 3, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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