101) The 350th Anniversary of the Guinea: A Two-Pound coin issued by the Royal Mint, U.K. celebrating the milestone:

101) The 350^th Anniversary of the Guinea: A Two-Pound coin issued by the Royal Mint, U.K. celebrating the milestone:

Why the name Guinea?

The coin was ‘romantically” named Guinea, because the gold for the coins was supplied by the “Africa Company” operating along the Gold/Guinea Coast in West Africa. Interestingly, the Egyptian Pound which was in circulation in the nineteenth century was also called “el-Geneh” or “el-Geni” in Arabic and was at par with the British Guinea.

The guineas were struck in “yellow” gold giving rise to an old adage “as yellow as a guinea”.

Tracing the fascinating life story of the Guinea (A Summary):

-      From the Restoration of the Monarchy to the Napoleonic Wars, the gold guinea was the preferred coin of the wealthy Britons.

-      It was first minted in 1663, after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, in the aftermath of the English Civil War when the Republican coinage was replaced by the coinage bearing the portrait of the newly restored King, Charles II.

-      Since inception, the guinea was struck during eight reigns in succession, thereafter and on the reverse always displayed the Arms of the reigning monarch, changing with each succession to reflect the dominion of the King or Queen.

-      Issued regularly in every reign from Charles II to George III, it was a coin that witnessed the Glorious Revolution, the Union of Kingdoms and the American War of Independence.

-      At inception, the worth of Guinea was one pound sterling or 20 shillings. Rising costs of gold later led to its actual value fluctuating until in 1717 and at its peak the Guinea was valued even upto thirty shillings. Nevertheless, for the most part, that, this coin was in circulation (1717 to 1816), it stabilised at 21 shillings to a Guinea or the equivalent of one pound and five pence in decimalized currency. (Shillings were a part of the British monetary system, upto the decimalization of the currency in 1971).

-      The Guinea was the principal gold coin of Britain ever since it was first minted and was the first machine-struck coin in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813.

Tracing the fascinating life story of the Guinea (Detailed):

During the reign of Charles II (1660-1685), after the “Restoration of the Monarchy”, the guinea was first minted on 06.02.1663 and became legal tender through a Proclamation issued on 27.03.1663.

Interestingly, during this period, the hand-hammered method of minting coins was replaced by machine made coins.

The new gold guineas were struck “by way of ye Mill and press” and given grained or lettered edges which made it very difficult for unscrupulous persons to clip and to counterfeit the coin.

The obverse of the guinea showed a right facing portrait of Charles II wearing a laurel wreath. On the periphery of the coin was the inscription “CAROLVS II DEI GRATIA” (Charles II, By the grace of God).

The reverse of the coin showed four crowned cruciform shields bearing the Arms of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, between which were four scepters and in the centre were four interlinked “C”s, with the inscription on the periphery “ MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX (“Of Great Britain, France and Ireland – King”). The edge of this coin was milled.

By 1680, an increase in the price of Gold, led to the Guinea being traded/exchanged at a premium and reached the worth of 22 shillings.

During the reign of James II (1685-1688), the guinea was produced both with and without the elephant and castle mark.

On the obverse, there is a portrait of James II, facing left with the inscription “JACOBUS II DEI GRATIA” (James II, by the Grace of God). 

The reverse displayed the same design as that of Charles II except for the interlinking “C”s in the centre of the coin. The edge of the coin was milled diagonally.

In 1688, James II’s daughter Mary and her husband Prince William of Orange (1689-1694) became co-monarchs, after James II was dethroned in the “Glorious Revolution”. 

On the obverse, their portraits appear together on the Guineas issued during this period, facing right, with William’s head in the foreground. The inscription on the periphery of this coin was “GVLIELMVS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA” (William and Mary, By the grace of God).

On the reverse, there was a new design which showed a large shield bearing the Arms of France in the first quarter, of Scotland in the second quarter, of Ireland in the third quarter and England in the fourth quarter, with a small shield in the centre bearing a Lion Rampant (the Emblem of Nassau). The inscription on the reverse on the periphery was “MAG BR FR ET HIB REX ET REGINA (“Of Magna Britannia, Francia and Hibernia, King and Queen” – “Magna Britannia” standing for Great Britain, “Francia” meaning France and “Hibernia” meaning Ireland).

By 1689, further rise in the cost of gold had driven the equivalent value of the guinea to almost 30 shillings.

During this period, the Guinea had reached the equivalent of almost 30 shillings. The Guinea was minted between 1689 and 1694 both with and without the elephant and castle. In 1692 and 1693, the mark of the elephant alone was engraved.

William ruled as William III (1694-1702), upon the death of Queen Mary in 1694.

On the obverse of the guinea, during this period, his portrait appeared facing right with the inscription “GVLIELMVS III DEI GRATIA” (William III, By the Grace of God).

On the reverse, the design was reverted to that of Charles II and James II, but with a small shield with the Lion of Nassau in the Centre. The peripheral inscription was “MAG BR FRA HIB REX (“Of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King”).

 During the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), the Act of Union 1707, which created a united/Unified Kingdom of Great Britain through the Union of the Parliament of Scotland with the Parliament of England, was enacted.

The guinea was minted every year during her reign, except for 1704.

On the obverse the guinea bears the portrait of Queen Anne facing left. The guinea minted during 1703, bears the word “VIGO” below the Queen’s portrait, to commemorate sea-battle, in which, the gold for minting of the guineas, was seized from Spanish ships at the Battle of Vigo Bay.

On the reverse:

a)   the design before the Act of Union 1707 showed the Cruciform shields bearing the Arms of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, separated by scepters and with a Central Tudor Rose and the peripheral legend “MAG BRI FR ET HIB REG” (meaning “Of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Queen”).

b)   After the Act of Union 1707, the English and Scottish Arms appear conjoined on one shield and the order of Arms on the shields is England and Scotland, France, England and Scotland, Ireland. The centre of the reverse design shows the Star of the Order of the Garter. On some coins minted in 1708 and 1709, the elephant and castle design are engraved.

During the reign of George I (1714-1727), the guineas were minted sometimes with the elephant and castle design in 1721, 1722 and 1726.

The obverse of the 1714 guineas shows the King facing right, with the inscription on the periphery “ GEORGIVS DG MAG BR FR ET HIB FD” (meaning “George , by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Hibernia King, Fedei Defensor , with Hibernia standing for Ireland and Fedei Defensor standing for “Defender of the Faith”). In later coins “MAG” has been reduced to the single letter “M”, as there was too much crowding of letters on the periphery. The obverse designs showed five different portraits of the King between 1714 and 1727.

The reverse has the same design as in the last years of Queen Anne’s reign, except that the order of shields is England, France, Ireland and Hanover. The inscription on the periphery is: “BRVN ET LVN DVX R I A TH ET PR EL 1714” (meaning “Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire”). The edge of the coin is milled diagonally.

A Royal Proclamation in December 1717 froze the value of the guinea at 21 shillings.

During the reign of George II (1727-1760),

Guineas were minted every year except for 1742, 1744, 1754 and 1757.

Some guineas minted between 1729 and 1739 carry the letters “EIC” under the King’s head, meaning that the gold for these coins was given by the “East India Company”. Some guineas of 1745 have the letters “LIMA” indicating that the gold was brought by General George Anson, accumulated during his voyage around the globe.

The obverse of the guineas minted during 1739 to 1743, has a portrait of the King facing left, with the inscription “GEORGIUS II DEI GRATIA” (meaning “George II, by the Grace of God”). In all, the guinea featured eight different obverses during his reign.

The reverse of the guinea shows a single large crowned shield with the quarters containing the Arms of England and Scotland, France, Hanover and Ireland. On the periphery is the legend “M B F ET H REX F D B ET LD S R I A T ET E” (meaning “King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch Treasurer and Elector”. The guinea during his reign featured five different reverse designs.

In 1732, the old hammered gold coinage was demonetized and the gold was used to mint guineas.

The earlier coins had diagonally milled edges, but in 1939, the milling was changed to look like the shape of a chevron or arrow head, following the detection of guineas being filed by unscrupulous persons, without being easily detected.

During the reign of George III (1760-1820), the obverse of the guineas of this period shows the King facing right with the inscription on the periphery: “GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA” (meaning “George III, By the grace of God”). The guinea featured six different obverse portraits of the King.

The reverse of the guineas issued between 1761 and 1786 depict a crowned shield bearing the Arms of England and Scotland, France, Ireland and Hanover. The inscription on the periphery is “M B F ET H REX F D B ET LD S R I A T ET E” (meaning” King of Great Britain, France and Hibernia – Ireland – Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch – Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire”). The guinea featured at least three different reverse designs in 1761, 1763-79, 1781-86, 1787-99 and 1813.

In the reign of George III, guineas were struck nearly every year from 1761 to 1799.

The King’s early guineas bore on the reverse a garnished shield of the Royal Arms, but from 1787, a crowned shield was adopted which resembled the old style long handled spades, earning the coin its famous nickname – the “Spade Guinea”, which is one of the most popular guineas.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the French Revolutionary Wars/ Napoleonic Wars had drained the gold reserves and gold became a scarce commodity. The Guinea was being used for gold hoarding. The British Parliament, left with no alternative, passed laws making Banknotes legal tender for any denomination.

In 1799, guineas stopped being minted, although half and third-guineas were still coined.

In 1813, about 80,000 guineas were restruck, to pay the Duke of Wellington’s army in the Pyrenees, because the local residents would not accept any paper currency and only wanted gold coins from the British troops. As such, the 1813 guinea issues are also referred to as the “Military Guinea”.

The obverse of the “Military guinea” showed a portrait of the King and,

  the reverse showed a crowned shield within a Garter with the inscription “HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE” on the Garter and “BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR” (“King of the British, Defender of the Faith”) on the periphery and the year of issue “1813”.

This was the last time the Guinea was minted and has since become a most sought after item by Collectors.

The Great Recoinage of 1816, replaced the guinea with another exciting gold coin the “Sovereign”, but that is another story.

The “fascination” of the Guinea still endures:

-      The mystique of the coin still endures. The legend and lure of the Guinea is very much alive to the present day, from its one pound and one shilling value, to its association with gentlemen, gentility and good taste.

-      Guinea is still a term which denotes an amount of 21 shillings or 1.05 pounds in decimalized currency.

-      The guinea always the preferred mode of payment of the Aristrocracy. Professional Fees, payments for property, Art, tailoring etc. were often quoted in guineas even after the decimalization of British currency in 1971.

-       The guinea is still a term used in pricing and sale of livestock at auctions and in horse-racing. The purchaser pays the equivalent of Guineas to the seller in pounds. Major horse races in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, have names of Races ending in “1000 Guineas” or “2000 Guineas” even though the nominal value of their purses are much higher than the amounts suggested by their names.

-      Although the Guinea had been long superseded by the “gold Sovereign”, such was the impact of the Guinea that the coin remains very much a part of the vocabulary of today.

-      (When I went to purchase my first gold sovereign from a Jewellery shop in 1983, The Shop owner immediately called out to his Assistant, “Bring me the box containing gold guineas” and he promptly, let me choose a “gold Sovereign” from the box. (Alas, when we went to buy gold Sovereigns in the Pune Jewellery stores recently, no one seemed to have heard of either a gold “Guinea” or a “Sovereign”, but the Royal Mint U.K. still retails old original gold Guineas through a Special Cell).

Commemorative Coin:

This is the first time that the Royal Mint has celebrated the anniversary of a coin with a coin. A 2 Pound coin has been chosen to mark 350 years since a golden guinea was first struck, its commemorative design inspired by the famous “Spade Guinea” of George IIIdepicting a shield with the Arms of King George III, so nicknamed, for the shape of its shield resembled the garden spade.

The Spade Guinea was most popular and sought after, of all the Guinea designs, so much so, that it was often cast in brass even about a century or so later.

A pictorial depiction

An image of the coin in my collection

On the reverse, the coin depicts the “Spade Guinea” designed by Anthony Smith (based on the iconic “Spade Guinea” design of 1787).The inscription “Anniversary of the Golden Guinea . 2013.” is seen on the outer periphery/Ring of the coin. 

 On the obverse, this coin has Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait, facing right which is the familiar design made by Ian Rank-Broadley.

Edge inscription: “WHAT IS A GUINEA? TIS A SPLENDID THING”

(This is a line taken from “Odes, Lyrical Ballads and Poems on various Occasions” by contemporary writer Stephen George Kemble (1809) where he has penned “What is a Guinea? ‘tis a splendid thing. Which represents our sovereign lord the King”). 

Specifications of the coin:

Metal Composition: Outer Ring: Nickel Brass; Inner Ring: Cupro-nickel.

Diameter: 28.40 mm

Coin Quality: Brilliant Uncirculated.

Weight: 12.00 gms.



Links:

British Crown Dependencies:

1) Specimen Banknotes from the States of Jersey

2) Coinage and Currency from the States of Jersey

3) Currency & Coinage of the Bailiwick of Guernsey

4) Currency & Coinage of Gibraltar : An Overseas Territory of Great Britain

5) Coinage of Gibraltar: (A British Overseas Territory): An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by the Tower Mint, UK in 2010
  
6) The Isle of Man: An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by Pobjoy Mint, UK in 2015

7) The Centenary of the ill-fated Titanic (15.04.1912 - 15.04.2012): An Alderney Five Pound Coin Commemorating the Maritime Legend

8) "Man of Steel": A Superman Movie: A set of stamps brought out in 2013 by Jersey post, the States of Jersey, commemorating Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill who played Superman in the Movie

9) Coins & Currency of Bermuda

10) The Bailiwick of Jersey - Presently circulating coinage - Pounds and Pence 

11) St. Helena & Ascension Islands: An Uncirculated Coin Set from 2003 

12) The Legend of the "HMAV Bounty" is interwoven with the heritage of the Pitcairn Islands: An uncirculated coin set from Pitcairn Islands in 2009 depicting the icons/relics of the Bounty minted by the New Zealand Mint 

Famous Battles: 

1) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to St. Helena: (Part I): A One Crown Commemorative coin issued by the Ascension Island (minted by Pobjoy Mint UK) 

2) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to st. Helena: (Part II) 1) A 5 GBP Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK. 2) A"Drie Landen Zilverset" ( ot the "Three Lands Silver set") containing coins issued by the Royal Dutch Mint including coins of Netherlands, Belgium and UK

3) Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain by issuing a 50 Pence coin by the Royal Mint UK

Gold Coins:
  
1) Gold Sovereigns issued in 2013 & 2014 by MMTC-PAMP in India under licence from the Royal Mint, UK, carrying the "I" Mint Mark

2) Gold Half-Sovereigns minted by MMTC-PAMP in India in 2014 under licence from the Royal Mint UK bearing the "I" Mint Mark 

Silver Coins:

1) A 20 Pound Silver coin minted for the first timr by the royal Mint UK: reverse design carries the famous St. George slaying the dragon design found on Gold Sovereigns 

British India Coinage:

 1) East India Company Quarter Anna Copper Coin which is one of the first issues under the Coinage Act 1835

2) Victoria Coinage: When she was Queen and afterwards Empress

3) Edward VII: King & Emperor  Coinage

4) George V King Emperor Coinage

5) George VI: The last of the British India Emperors Coinage 

Other British Royalty: 

1) Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations (1952-2012): A Five Pound Commemorative coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK

2) Commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953: A Five Pound Coin minted by the Royal Mint UK in 2013, depicting the Imperial State Crown

3) The Royal Coat of Arms of the UK: Great British 2012 Coin Set (Uncirculated) issued by the Royal Mint UK

4) Prince George's Christening Ceremony celebrated with coins issued by the Royal Mint UK in 2013

5) The British Empire:  A Case of Numismatic "segregation": (Guest Post by Rahul Kumar)

6) 1) The Portrait Collection: Various Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II on Coinage 2) The Fourth & Final Circulating coinage of the Portrait designed by Ian Rank-Broadley and the First Edition of the portrait of the Queen made by Jody Clark

 British Coinage:

1) The contribution of the Great British One-Pound coins in keeping alive the historical legends/emblems/heritage of the UK (1983 onwards)

2) Transformation of a Five shilling Coin (Crown) into the UK Twenty-five Pence & then the Five Pound Coin

3) Transformation of the Two Shilling Coin (Florin) Coin into the UK Ten Pence

4) The 350th Anniversary of the Guinea: A Two Pound Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK celebrating the milestone

 Commemorative British Coinage:

 1) Commemorating the Bicentenary of Charles Dickens: A Two pound coin celebrating his literary contributions during the Victorian Era

 2) Commemorating 50 Years of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - presently called the World Wide Fund for Nature by issue of a Fifty Pence coin by the Royal Mint, UK

3) Coins commemorating London Olympics & Paralympics (2012)

4) Commemorating 150 Years of the London Underground : Two pound Coins minted by the Royal Mint UK, showing the "Roundel" logo and a train emerging from a tunnel 

5) Commemorating the 100th Birth anniversary of Christopher Ironside with his" Royal Arms" design on a 50 Pence coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK 

6) 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta - the Universal Guidepost to Liberty and Freedom

Inspirations from Scottish History: 

1) The Legend of King Bruce & the Spider on Banknotes

Banknotes from Scotland:
  
1) Commemorating Sir William Arrol and his creation the Forth Rail Bridge by issues of Britain's first ever 5 Pound Polymer Banknote