Great Britain 1717 guinea
This specimen was lot 31115 in Heritage sale 3037 (New York, January 2015), where it sold for $7,637.50. The catalog description[1] noted, "George I gold Guinea 1717 MS62 NGC, Fourth laureate head, tie with loop at one end. A vibrant example of this seldom encountered type with luminous golden surfaces and just a bit of auburn tone encircling the legends. The portrait of George is quite bold, with his facial features very slightly, double-struck and the reverse motif of crowned, cruciform shields is extremely pleasant. A lovely mint-state example of this scarce date in the series, highly collectible as such." The guinea of 21 shillings was the standard British gold coin during the eighteenth century and was issued in large numbers. Most were exported to pay soldiers and provide "subsidies" for friendly rulers. This type, struck 1716-23, is among five minted during the reign of George I, the first of the Hanoverians. This writer does not know how common guineas are relative to half guineas, but one can safely say they are scarce in high grade. Guineas were superseded by sovereigns during the reform of 1817.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 8.35 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 546.1, Fr-327, S-3631.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3037, featuring the Empire, the Santa Catarina, the Law and the Santa Maria Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
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