Great Britain 1811 1/3 guinea
This specimen was lot 300 in Sincona sale 75 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 2,200 CHF (about US$2,670 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Grossbritannien | Königreich. George III. 1760-1820. 1/3 Guinea 1811, London. Second laureate head. NGC MS62. Überdurchschnittliche Erhaltung. (Extraordinary condition.)" 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 seven shillings.
Recorded mintage: unknown but the scarcest date.
Specification: 2.78 g, 0.917 fine gold, .082 troy oz AGW, this specimen 2.79 g.
Catalog reference: KM 650, Spink 3740, Bull 880, Fr-367a.
- 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.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 75, SINCONA British Collection - Part 2, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022..
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