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Guinea (British coin)
Encyclopedia
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England
and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain
and the United Kingdom
between 1663 and 1813. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin
, originally worth one pound sterling
, equal to twenty shilling
s; but rises in the price of gold caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings; from 1717 till 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. Following that, Great Britain adopted the gold standard
and guinea became a colloquial term.
The name came from the Guinea
region in West Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated. Although no longer circulated, the term guinea survives in some circles, notably horse racing
, and in the sale of rams
, to mean an amount of one pound
and one shilling (21 shillings) or one pound and five pence
in decimalised
currency. The name also forms the basis for the Arabic
word for the Egyptian pound
الجنيه el-Gineih, as a sum of 100 qurush
(i.e., one pound) was worth approximately 21 shillings at the end of the 19th century.
The denomination was originally worth one pound, or twenty shillings, but an increase in the price of gold during the reign of Charles II
led to its being traded at a premium. In 1670 the weight of the coin was reduced from 8.4–8.5 g to 8.3–8.4 g, but the price of gold continued to increase, and by the 1680s the coin was worth 22 shilling
s.
The diameter of the coin was 25 millimetres throughout Charles II's reign, and the average gold purity (from an assay done in 1773) was 0.9100. "Guinea" was not an official name for the coin, but much of the gold used to produce the early coins came from Guinea in Africa.
The coin was produced each year between 1663 and 1684, with the elephant appearing on some coins each year from 1663–65 and 1668, and the elephant and castle on some coins from 1674 onward.
The obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by John Roettier (1631–c. 1700). The obverse showed a fine right-facing bust of the king 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 date ("Of Great Britain
, France, and Ireland
King"). To avoid confusion with gilded silver coins, the edge was milled to deter clipping or filing (and to distinguish it from the silver half-crown which had edge lettering). Until 1669 the milling was perpendicular to the edge, giving vertical grooves, while from 1670 the milling was diagonal to the edge.
John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of James II
. In this reign, the coins weighed 8.5 g with a diameter of 25–26 mm, and were minted in all years between 1685 and 1688, with an average gold purtiy of 0.9094. Coins of each year were issued both with and without the elephant and castle mark. The king's head faces left in this reign, and is surrounded by the inscription IACOBUS II DEI GRATIA ("James II by the grace of God"), while the reverse is the same as in Charles II's reign except for omitting the interlinked "C"s in the centre of the coin. The edge of the coins are milled diagonally.
With the removal of James II in the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, his daughter Mary
, and her husband Prince William of Orange
ruled jointly by agreement as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the guinea piece in Roman style, with William's head uppermost, with the legend GVLIELMVS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA. In a departure from the previous reigns, the reverse featured a totally new design of a large crowned shield which bore the arms of imperial France in the first quarter, of Scotland
in the second quarter, of Ireland
in the third quarter, and of England
in the fourth 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 date (Of "Magna Britannia" Great Britain, "Francia" France and "Hibernia" Ireland King and Queen). By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to nearly thirty shillings. The guineas of this reign weighed 8.5 grams, were 25–26 mm in diameter, and were the work of James and Norbert Roettier and were produced in all years between 1689 and 1694 both with and without the elephant and castle; in 1692 and 1693 the mark of the elephant alone was also used.
Following the death of Queen Mary from smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign as William III. 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 Roettier had died in 1698 and his brother Norbert had moved to France in 1695.
The coins of William III's reign weighed 8.4 g with an average gold purity of 0.9123. The diameter was 25–26 mm until 1700 and 26–27 mm in 1701. 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 date. The coin had a diagonal milled edge.
ships at the Battle of Vigo Bay
.
With the Acts of Union 1707
creating a unified Kingdom of Great Britain
through the union of the Parliament of Scotland
with the Parliament of England
, the design of the reverse of the first truly British guinea was changed. 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 BRI FR ET HIB REG date ("Of Great Britain, France, and Ireland Queen"). With the Act of Union, the English and Scottish arms appear conjoined on one shield, with the left half being the English arms and the right half being the Scottish arms, and the order of arms appearing on the shields becomes England and Scotland, France, England and Scotland, Ireland. The elephant and castle can appear on the coins of 1708 and 1709. The centre of the reverse design shows the Star of the Order of the Garter
.
The coins weighed 8.3 g, were 25 mm in diameter, and had a gold purity of 0.9134. The edge of the coin is milled diagonally. In 1717, Great Britain adopted the gold standard
, at a rate of one guinea to 129.438 grains (8.38 g) of crown gold
, which was 22 carat
gold.
George I
's guinea coins were struck in all years between 1714 and 1727, with the elephant and castle sometimes appearing in 1721, 1722, and 1726. His guineas are notable for using five different portraits of the king, and the 1714 coin is notable for declaring him to be Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The coins weighed 8.3-8.4 grams, were 25-26 millimetres in diameter, and the average gold purity was 0.9135.
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 Hibernia 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 DVX S R I A TH ET PR EL 1714 ("Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire
"), and in other years BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL date ("Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire"). The edge of the coin is milled diagonally.
The value of the guinea had fluctuated over the years from twenty to thirty shillings, and back down to twenty-one shillings and sixpence by the start of George's reign. A Royal Proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at twenty-one shillings.
George II
's guinea pieces are a complex issue, with eight obverses and five reverses used through the 33 years of the reign. The coins were produced in all years of the reign except 1742, 1744, 1754, and 1757. The coins weighed 8.3–8.4 g, and were 25–26 mm in diameter except for some of the 1727 coins which were 24–25 mm. The average gold purity was 0.9140. Some coins issued between 1729 and 1739 carry the mark EIC under the king's head, to indicate the gold was provided by the East India Company
, while some 1745 coins carry the mark LIMA to indicate the gold came from Admiral George Anson
's round-the-world voyage. In the early part of the reign the edge of the coin was milled diagonally, but from 1739 following the activities of a particularly bold gang of guinea filers for whom a reward was posted, the milling was changed to produce the shape of a chevron or arrow-head. In 1732 the old hammered gold coinage was demonetised, and it is thought that some of the old coins were melted down to create more guineas.
The obverse has a left-facing bust of the king with the legend GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (GEORGIUS II DEI GRATIA 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 Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector").
Unlike the two-guinea and five-guinea coins, production of the guinea continued through much of the long reign of King George III
.
The guineas of George III weighed 8.4 g and were 24 mm in diameter, with an average gold purity (at the time of the 1773 assay) of 0.9146 (meaning it contained 7.7 g of gold). They were issued with six different obverses and three reverses in 1761, 1763–79, 1781–99, and 1813. All the obverses show right-facing busts of the king with the legend GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA with different portraits of the king. 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 date ("King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire"). In 1787 a new design of reverse featuring a spade-shaped shield was introduced, with the same legend; this has become known as the Spade Guinea.
In 1774 almost 20 million worn guineas of William III and Queen Anne were melted down and recoined as guineas and half-guineas.
Towards the end of the century gold began to become scarce and rise in value. The French Revolution
and the subsequent French Revolutionary Wars
had drained gold reserves and people started hoarding coins. Parliament passed a law making banknote
s legal tender
in any amount, and in 1799 the production of guineas was halted, although half and third-guineas continued to be struck. Following the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland
in 1800, the king's titles changed, and an Order in Council of 5 November 1800 directed the Master of the Mint
to prepare a new coinage, but although designs were prepared, the production of guineas was not authorised.
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. This issue has become known as the Military Guinea. At this time, gold was still scarce and the guinea was trading on the open market for 27 shillings in paper money, so the coining of this issue for the army's special needs was a poor deal for the government, and this was the last issue of guineas to be minted. The reverse of the military guinea is a unique design, showing a crowned shield within a Garter, with HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE
on the Garter, and BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR ("King of Britain, Defender of the Faith") around the edge, and "1813" between the edge inscription and the garter.
, the guinea was replaced as the major unit of currency by the pound and in coinage with a sovereign.
Even after the coin ceased to circulate, the name guinea was long used to indicate the amount of 21 shillings (£1.05 in decimalised currency). The guinea had an aristocratic overtone; professional fees and payment for land, horses, art, bespoke
tailoring, furniture and other luxury items were often quoted in guineas until a couple of years after decimalisation in 1971. It was similarly used in Australia until that country went to decimal currency in 1966.
It is still quoted in the pricing and sale of livestock at auction and racehorses, where the purchaser will pay in guineas but the seller will receive payment in an equal number of pounds. The difference (5p in each guinea) is traditionally the auctioneer's commission. Many major horse races in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, and Australia bear names ending in "1,000 Guineas" or "2,000 Guineas", even though the nominal values of their purses
today are much higher than the £1,050 or £2,100 suggested by their names.
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
between 1663 and 1813. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin
Gold coin
A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value...
, originally worth one pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, equal to twenty shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s; but rises in the price of gold caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings; from 1717 till 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. Following that, Great Britain adopted the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
and guinea became a colloquial term.
The name came from the Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...
region in West Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated. Although no longer circulated, the term guinea survives in some circles, notably horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, and in the sale of rams
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
, to mean an amount of one pound
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
and one shilling (21 shillings) or one pound and five pence
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
in decimalised
Decimal Day
Decimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
currency. The name also forms the basis for the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word for the Egyptian pound
Egyptian pound
The Egyptian Pound is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 Qirsh , or 1,000 Milliemes ....
الجنيه el-Gineih, as a sum of 100 qurush
Qirsh
Qirsh, Gersh, Grush, Kuruş and Grosi are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is used in and the different transcriptions into the Latin alphabet...
(i.e., one pound) was worth approximately 21 shillings at the end of the 19th century.
Origin
The first guinea was produced on 6 February 1663, and was made legal currency by a Proclamation of 27 March 1663. 44½ guineas would be made from one Troy pound of 11/12 finest gold, each weighing 129.4 grains.The denomination was originally worth one pound, or twenty shillings, but an increase in the price of gold during the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
led to its being traded at a premium. In 1670 the weight of the coin was reduced from 8.4–8.5 g to 8.3–8.4 g, but the price of gold continued to increase, and by the 1680s the coin was worth 22 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s.
The diameter of the coin was 25 millimetres throughout Charles II's reign, and the average gold purity (from an assay done in 1773) was 0.9100. "Guinea" was not an official name for the coin, but much of the gold used to produce the early coins came from Guinea in Africa.
The coin was produced each year between 1663 and 1684, with the elephant appearing on some coins each year from 1663–65 and 1668, and the elephant and castle on some coins from 1674 onward.
Seventeenth century
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
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 date ("Of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France, and Ireland
Hibernia
Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe , Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne . In his book Geographia Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of...
King"). To avoid confusion with gilded silver coins, the edge was milled to deter clipping or filing (and to distinguish it from the silver half-crown which had edge lettering). Until 1669 the milling was perpendicular to the edge, giving vertical grooves, while from 1670 the milling was diagonal to the edge.
John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. In this reign, the coins weighed 8.5 g with a diameter of 25–26 mm, and were minted in all years between 1685 and 1688, with an average gold purtiy of 0.9094. Coins of each year were issued both with and without the elephant and castle mark. The king's head faces left in this reign, and is surrounded by the inscription IACOBUS II DEI GRATIA ("James II by the grace of God"), while the reverse is the same as in Charles II's reign except for omitting the interlinked "C"s in the centre of the coin. The edge of the coins are milled diagonally.
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, his daughter Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
, and her husband Prince William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
ruled jointly by agreement as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the guinea piece in Roman style, with William's head uppermost, with the legend GVLIELMVS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA. In a departure from the previous reigns, the reverse featured a totally new design of a large crowned shield which bore the arms of imperial France in the first quarter, of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
in the second quarter, of Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
in the third quarter, and of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
in the fourth quarter, the whole ensemble having a small shield in the centre bearing the rampant lion of Nassau
Nassau (state)
Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, now extinct in male line, was the House of Nassau.-Origins:...
; the legend on the obverse read MAG BR FR ET HIB REX ET REGINA date (Of "Magna Britannia" Great Britain, "Francia" France and "Hibernia" Ireland King and Queen). By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to nearly thirty shillings. The guineas of this reign weighed 8.5 grams, were 25–26 mm in diameter, and were the work of James and Norbert Roettier and were produced in all years between 1689 and 1694 both with and without the elephant and castle; in 1692 and 1693 the mark of the elephant alone was also used.
Following the death of Queen Mary from smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign as William III. 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 Roettier had died in 1698 and his brother Norbert had moved to France in 1695.
The coins of William III's reign weighed 8.4 g with an average gold purity of 0.9123. The diameter was 25–26 mm until 1700 and 26–27 mm in 1701. 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 date. The coin had a diagonal milled edge.
Queen Anne
The reign of Queen Anne (1702–14) produced guineas in all years between 1702 and 1714 except for 1704. The 1703 guinea bears the word VIGO under the Queen's bust, to commemorate the origin of the gold taken from the SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
ships at the Battle of Vigo Bay
Battle of Vigo Bay
The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande , was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval...
.
With the Acts of Union 1707
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
creating a unified Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
through the union of the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
with the Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, the design of the reverse of the first truly British guinea was changed. 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 BRI FR ET HIB REG date ("Of Great Britain, France, and Ireland Queen"). With the Act of Union, the English and Scottish arms appear conjoined on one shield, with the left half being the English arms and the right half being the Scottish arms, and the order of arms appearing on the shields becomes England and Scotland, France, England and Scotland, Ireland. The elephant and castle can appear on the coins of 1708 and 1709. The centre of the reverse design shows the Star of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
.
The coins weighed 8.3 g, were 25 mm in diameter, and had a gold purity of 0.9134. The edge of the coin is milled diagonally. In 1717, Great Britain adopted the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
, at a rate of one guinea to 129.438 grains (8.38 g) of crown gold
Crown gold
Crown gold is a 22 karat gold alloy, introduced in England for gold crown coin manufacture in 1526 . It is 22/24 = 0.91667 fine or 91.667% gold....
, which was 22 carat
Carat (purity)
The karat or carat is a unit of purity for gold alloys.- Measure :Karat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass:where...
gold.
George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
's guinea coins were struck in all years between 1714 and 1727, with the elephant and castle sometimes appearing in 1721, 1722, and 1726. His guineas are notable for using five different portraits of the king, and the 1714 coin is notable for declaring him to be Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The coins weighed 8.3-8.4 grams, were 25-26 millimetres in diameter, and the average gold purity was 0.9135.
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 Hibernia King, Fidei Defensor
Fidei defensor
Fidei defensor is a Latin title which translates to Defender of the Faith in English and Défenseur de la Foi in French...
"), 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 DVX S R I A TH ET PR EL 1714 ("Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
"), and in other years BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL date ("Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire"). The edge of the coin is milled diagonally.
The value of the guinea had fluctuated over the years from twenty to thirty shillings, and back down to twenty-one shillings and sixpence by the start of George's reign. A Royal Proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at twenty-one shillings.
George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
's guinea pieces are a complex issue, with eight obverses and five reverses used through the 33 years of the reign. The coins were produced in all years of the reign except 1742, 1744, 1754, and 1757. The coins weighed 8.3–8.4 g, and were 25–26 mm in diameter except for some of the 1727 coins which were 24–25 mm. The average gold purity was 0.9140. Some coins issued between 1729 and 1739 carry the mark EIC under the king's head, to indicate the gold was provided by the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, while some 1745 coins carry the mark LIMA to indicate the gold came from Admiral George Anson
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
's round-the-world voyage. In the early part of the reign the edge of the coin was milled diagonally, but from 1739 following the activities of a particularly bold gang of guinea filers for whom a reward was posted, the milling was changed to produce the shape of a chevron or arrow-head. In 1732 the old hammered gold coinage was demonetised, and it is thought that some of the old coins were melted down to create more guineas.
The obverse has a left-facing bust of the king with the legend GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (GEORGIUS II DEI GRATIA 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 Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector").
Unlike the two-guinea and five-guinea coins, production of the guinea continued through much of the long reign of King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
George III
In 1774 almost 20 million worn guineas of William III and Queen Anne were melted down and recoined as guineas and half-guineas.
Towards the end of the century gold began to become scarce and rise in value. The French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and the subsequent French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
had drained gold reserves and people started hoarding coins. Parliament passed a law making banknote
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...
s legal tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....
in any amount, and in 1799 the production of guineas was halted, although half and third-guineas continued to be struck. Following the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
in 1800, the king's titles changed, and an Order in Council of 5 November 1800 directed the Master of the Mint
Master of the Mint
Master of the Mint was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain, between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Master was the highest officer in the Royal Mint. Until 1699, appointment was usually for life. Its holder occasionally sat in the cabinet...
to prepare a new coinage, but although designs were prepared, the production of guineas was not authorised.
Nineteenth century
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's army in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, as the local people would accept only gold in payment. This issue has become known as the Military Guinea. At this time, gold was still scarce and the guinea was trading on the open market for 27 shillings in paper money, so the coining of this issue for the army's special needs was a poor deal for the government, and this was the last issue of guineas to be minted. The reverse of the military guinea is a unique design, showing a crowned shield within a Garter, with HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE
Honi soit qui mal y pense
"Honi soit qui mal y pense" is a French phrase meaning: "Shamed be he who thinks evil of it". The phrase is sometimes rendered as "Honi soit quy mal y pense", "Hony soyt qe mal y pense", "Hony soyt ke mal y pense", "Hony soyt qui mal pence" and various other phoneticizations. It is the motto of...
on the Garter, and BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR ("King of Britain, Defender of the Faith") around the edge, and "1813" between the edge inscription and the garter.
Replacement by the pound
In the Great Recoinage of 1816Great Recoinage of 1816
The Great Recoinage of 1816 was an attempt by the British Government to re-stabilise the currency of Great Britain following economic difficulties precipitated by the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-History:...
, the guinea was replaced as the major unit of currency by the pound and in coinage with a sovereign.
Even after the coin ceased to circulate, the name guinea was long used to indicate the amount of 21 shillings (£1.05 in decimalised currency). The guinea had an aristocratic overtone; professional fees and payment for land, horses, art, bespoke
Bespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
tailoring, furniture and other luxury items were often quoted in guineas until a couple of years after decimalisation in 1971. It was similarly used in Australia until that country went to decimal currency in 1966.
It is still quoted in the pricing and sale of livestock at auction and racehorses, where the purchaser will pay in guineas but the seller will receive payment in an equal number of pounds. The difference (5p in each guinea) is traditionally the auctioneer's commission. Many major horse races in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, and Australia bear names ending in "1,000 Guineas" or "2,000 Guineas", even though the nominal values of their purses
Purse distribution
In horse racing, the term purse distribution may refer to the total amount of money paid out to the owners of horses racing at a particular track over a given period of time, or to the percentages of a race's total purse that are awarded to each of the highest finishers...
today are much higher than the £1,050 or £2,100 suggested by their names.