Great Britain 1720 guinea

Goldberg sale 59, lot 3105

photo courtesy Ira & Larry Goldberg

This specimen was lot 3105 in Goldberg sale 59 (Beverly Hills, June 2010), where it sold for $12,650. The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Great Britain. Guinea, 1720. George I, 1714-1727. Fourth Laureate Head, right. Reverse: Crowned cruciform arms, with alternating scepters at angles, Garter star at center. A delightful specimen, boldly struck, perfectly centered and highly lustrous. Exceptional eye appeal. NGC graded MS-62. At first glance, given the numerical designation, this may not appear to be such a fabulous guinea, but it is. The cataloguer obtained this coin at the cited Spink auction, for its former owner (Dr Terner), having looked for years for a quality example of the date. In his 30+ years of handling top English gold, the cataloguer of this section has never seen this coin's equal. Thus, in this case, '62' is a gem of a coin! Ex Douglas-Morris sale, lot 24. Ex Spink sale #91, lot 78. Ex Dr Jacob Y. Terner Collection. Ex Millennia, Lot 365."

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 1714-27, 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 Guineas were superseded by sovereigns during the reform of 1817.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: 8.3 g, 0.917 fine gold, .24 troy oz, 25-26 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: S-3631; Fr-327; KM 546.1.

Source:

• 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, 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.
• ^[1]Ira & Larry Goldberg, Goldberg sale 59: the pre-Long Beach Sale, Beverly Hills, 2010.

Link to:

• 1718 quarter guinea
• 1719 guinea
• 1720 farthing
• 1720 half penny
• 1720 sixpence
• 1720 shilling, roses and plumes on reverse
• 1720 shilling, plain reverse
• 1720 half crown
• 1720 crown
• 1720 half guinea
• 1720 2 guineas
• 1720 5 guineas
• 1721 guinea, no symbol
• Coins and currency dated 1720
• other specimens in The Millenia Collection
• return to coins of Great Britain