Great Britain 1745 1/2 guinea Fr-348

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Heritage sale 3081, lot 32213
photo courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

This specimen was lot 32213 in Heritage sale 3081 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $12,600. The catalog description[1] noted,

"Great Britain: George II gold 1/2 Guinea 1745-LIMA MS63 NGC. An extreme rarity of the Half Guinea series. The gold used for this piece was part of the £500,000 in specie captured by Admiral Anson (a prominent Royal Navy officer) in his raids on Spanish treasure ships bearing gold and silver mined in Lima, Peru. On their safe return to Portsmouth, Anson was met by a cheering crowd who formed a parade all the way back to London so as to safely deposit the tons of captured Spanish ore at the Royal Mint. To celebrate their victory (and humiliate their enemies), coins made from this treasure were marked 'Lima' beneath the bust of George II, and thus an enigmatic and historic coinage was born. Just one example has received a higher grade than the present specimen from either NGC or PCGS, firmly placing this representative amongst the finest for the type. Even beyond its technical quality, this piece is a visual delight with clouds of vibrant ochre-red tone above seas of shimmering mint luster, devices struck to an impeccable standard. Some minor flecking is noted in the fields, to no aesthetic detriment. For the discerning collector of Guineas and Half Guineas, it would be near impossible to match this offering. Ex. D. Mitchell Collection (27 April 1949, Lot 106)."

The booty seized from the Spanish was nearly all silver and the shillings, half crowns and crowns struck from it are common. The gold half guineas, guineas and five guineas are rare.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 4.175 g, 0.917 fine gold.

Catalog reference: Fr-248, KM 580.2, S-3684.

Source:

  • 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 Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3081, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.

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