Third guinea

The seven shilling piece was introduced in Great Britain by a proclamation of 29 November 1797.

When it was introduced in 1797, during the French Revolutionary wars, the financial situation at the Bank of England was precarious: gold was in short supply and banknotes were given legal tender status in any amount.

The coin weighed 2.8 grams and was 17 millimetres in diameter with a milled edge.

The design of the reverse changed in 1801 following the union of the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland, when simultaneously the king relinquished his claim to the French throne (some four hundred years after it had ceased to mean anything).

There were two obverses used, with different portraits of the king (the new one being introduced in 1804), with the legend GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA.