Great Britain 1801 1/2 guinea
This specimen was lot 20611 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Anaheim, CA, August 2016), where it sold for $1,645. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Guinea, 1801. George III (1760-1820). NGC MS-64. Sixth portrait. Tied for finest graded with a pair of others at NGC and PCGS. Jaw dropping quality; it is nearly inconceivable that the few peers seen at this level could exceed the perfection seen here. Brilliant, untoned, sharply struck, everything about the coin is simply magnificent." This type was struck 1801-03, presumably to pay soldiers and sailors during the Napoleonic Wars. Domestically, Great Britain operated on paper Bank of England notes; the gold standard would not be resumed until after Waterloo. The reform of 1817 terminated all guinea-denominated issues in favor of the sovereign. As the guinea was 21 shillings, this coin would have been ten shillings, six pence.
Recorded mintage: unknown but not rare.
Specification: 4.17 g, 0.917 fine gold, .123 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: S-3736; Fr-363; KM-649.
- 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
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, The August 2016 Anaheim ANA Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2016.
Link to:
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