Great Britain 1703 guinea
This specimen was lot 177 in Sincona sale 75 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 110,000 CHF (about US$133,518 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Grossbritannien | Königreich. Anne, 1702-1714. Guinea 1703, London. Pre-Union type. Draped bust with VIGO below. Sehr selten. NGC AU55. Feine Goldtönung. (Very rare, Nice gold toning.)"
The treasure seized by the Royal Navy from the Spanish at Vigo Bay was returned to London and struck into gold and silver coins. All the guineas of 1703 bear the boastful "VIGO" legend. Half guineas and five guineas were also struck on this occasion.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 8.35 g, 0.917 fine gold, 0.246 troy oz AGW, this specimen 8.32 g.
Catalog reference: KM 511.2, Spink 3563, Bull 461, Fr-321.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 75, SINCONA British Collection - Part 2, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
Link to: