Great Britain 1809 1/2 guinea
This specimen was lot 3299 in Goldberg sale 75 (Los Angeles, September 2013), where it sold for $310.50. The catalog description[1] noted, "Great Britain. Half Guinea, 1809. George III. Seventh laureate head right with short hair. Light haymarks. Very Fine." This type was struck 1804-13, 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.3737; Fr-364; KM 651.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, Jason Villareal and Steven Harvey, Goldberg Sale 75: the pre-Long Beach Sale, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, 2013.
Link to:
- 1809 third guinea
- 1810 half guinea
- Coins and currency dated 1809
- return to coins of Great Britain