Guinea (coin)

The coin was originally worth twenty shillings (one pound), but an increase in the price of gold during the reign of King Charles II led to the market trading it at a premium.

[4] The elephant, with or without a howdah, was the emblem of the Royal African Company (RAC), which had been granted a monopoly on English trade with Africa in slaves, gold and other goods, from 1672 until 1698; gold imported from Africa by the RAC bore the elephant emblem beneath the monarch's head on the coin.

The obverse showed a fine right-facing bust of Charles II wearing a laurel wreath (amended several times during the reign), surrounded by the legend CAROLVS II DEI GRATIA ("Charles II by the grace of God"), while the reverse showed four crowned cruciform shields bearing the arms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, between which were four sceptres, and in the centre were four interlinked "C"s, surrounded by the inscription MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX ("Of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King").

In this reign, the coins weighed 8.5 g (0.27 ozt) with a diameter of 25–26 mm (0.98–1.02 in), and were minted in all years between 1685 and 1688, with an average gold purity of 0.9094.

With the removal of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his daughter Mary and her husband Prince William of Orange reigned jointly as co-monarchs.

In a departure from the previous reigns, the reverse featured a totally new design of a large crowned shield which bore the arms of England and France in the first and fourth quarters, of Scotland in the second quarter, and of Ireland in the third quarter, the whole ensemble having a small shield in the centre bearing the rampant lion of Nassau; the legend on the obverse read MAG BR FR ET HIB REX ET REGINA (Of "Magna Britannia" Great Britain, "Francia" France and "Hibernia" Ireland King and Queen) and the year.

The guinea coin was produced in all years from 1695 to 1701, both with and without the elephant and castle, the design probably being the work of Johann Crocker, also known as John Croker, since James Roettiers had died in 1698 and his brother Norbert had moved to France in 1695.

William's head faces right on his coins, with the legend GVLIELMVS III DEI GRATIA, while the reverse design of William and Mary's reign was judged to be unsuccessful, so the design reverted to that used by Charles II and James II, but with a small shield with the lion of Nassau in the centre, with the legend MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX and the year.

Until the Union, the cruciform shields on the reverse showed the arms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland in order, separated by sceptres and with a central rose, and the legend MAG BR FRA ET HIB REG ("Of Great Britain, France, and Ireland Queen") and the year.

The dies for all guineas of Queen Anne and King George I were engraved by John Croker, an immigrant originally from Dresden in the Duchy of Saxony.

The 1714 obverse shows the right-facing portrait of the king with the legend GEORGIVS D G MAG BR FR ET HIB REX F D ("George, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Fidei Defensor"), while the later coins bear the legend GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D. The reverse follows the same general design as before, except the order of the shields is England and Scotland, France, Ireland, and Hanover, with the legend in 1714 BRVN ET LVN DUX S R I A TH ET PR EL ("Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire") and the year, and in other years BRVN ET L DUX S R I A TH ET EL ("Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire") and the year.

The obverse has a left-facing bust of the king with the legend GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (GEORGIUS II DEI GRA between 1739 and 1743), while the reverse features a single large crowned shield with the quarters containing the arms of England+Scotland, France, Hanover, and Ireland, and the legend M B F ET H REX F D B ET L D S R I A T ET E ("King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire").

Unlike the two-guinea and five-guinea coins, production of the guinea continued through much of the long reign of King George III.

The reverse of guineas issued between 1761 and 1786 show a crowned shield bearing the arms of England+Scotland, France, Ireland and Hanover, with the legend M B F ET H REX F D B ET L D S R I A T ET E and the date ("King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire").

Parliament passed a law making banknotes legal tender in any amount, and in 1799 the production of guineas was halted, although half- and third-guineas continued to be struck.

In 1813 it was necessary to strike 80,000 guineas to pay the Duke of Wellington's army in the Pyrenees, as the local people would accept only gold in payment.

Bids are still made in guineas for the sale of racehorses at auction, at which the purchaser will pay the guinea-equivalent amount but the seller will receive only that number of pounds.

[13] The new coin was designed by the artist Anthony Smith and features a reworking of the spade guinea from the late 18th century.