Great Britain 1683 5 guineas Fr-283
This specimen was lot 1668 in Sincona sale 82 (Zürich, May 2023), where it sold for 38,000 CHF (about US$50,086 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Charles II. 1660-1685. 5 Guineas 1683, London. TRICESIMO QVINTO. Second laureate bust, elephant and castle below. Selten (Rare). NGC AU53. From auction Spink 5028, London, May 2005, lot 107. From the Strauss Collection, Sotheby, May 1994, lot 173. From the Lady Duveen Collection, Glendining, September 1964, lot 100. Second finest certified by NGC." When milled coinage was introduced in 1663, the unite, double crown and gold crown 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 1680-84. While this coin is not particularly rare, it was big, glamorous and expensive when it was new and it remains so today.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 41.75 g, 0.917 fine gold; this specimen 41.68 g.
Catalog reference: KM 444.2, Spink 3332, Bull 199, Fr-283.
- 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.
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