Great Britain 1680 1/2 guinea
This specimen was lot 1166 in Sincona sale 79 (Zürich, October 2022), where it sold for 2,200 CHF (about US$2,637 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN | Königreich, Charles II. 1660-1685. 1/2 Guinea 1680, London. Second laureate bust. NGC AU Details. Lightly cleaned." 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 rounded bust was used 1672-84 on the half guinea with or without an elephant below the bust. The elephant was used only 1677-78, 1682 and 1684 to mark gold obtained from Africa. The 1680 half guinea with symbol is not listed in the SCWC but the plate photo shows one.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.17 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 4.08 g.
Catalog reference: KM 439.1, Spink 3348, Bull 301, Fr-290.
- 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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