The guinea is a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in the
Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between
1663 and 1814. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally worth one pound sterling,
equal to twenty shillings; but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the
value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings; from 1717
until 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. Following that, Great
Britain adopted the gold standard and guinea became a colloquial or specialised 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
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-Genēh / el-Geni, as a sum of 100 Qirsh
was worth approximately 21 shillings at the end of the 19th century.
Origin The first guinea was produced on February
6, 1663, and was made legal currency by a Proclamation of March 27, 1663. One troy pound
of 11/12 fine gold would make 44½ guineas, each thus theoretically weighing 129.438 grains.
The denomination was originally worth one pound, or twenty shillings, but an increase
in the price of gold during the reign of King Charles II led to its being traded at a premium.
The price of gold continued to increase, especially in times of trouble, and by the 1680s the
coin was worth 22 shillings. Indeed, in his diary entries for 13 June 1667, Samuel Pepys
records that the price was 24 to 25 shillings. The diameter of the coin was 1 inch throughout
Charles II's reign, and the average gold purity 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
The obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by John Roettier. The obverse showed
a fine right-facing bust of the king wearing a laurel wreath, surrounded by the legend
CAROLVS II DEI GRATIA, 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.
To avoid confusion with gilded silver coins, the edge was milled to deter clipping or filing.
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 King
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 purity 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, 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
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 date. 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.
Eighteenth century Queen Anne
The reign of Queen Anne 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 Spanish 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. 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 of crown gold, which was 22 carat gold.
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.
George I
King 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, 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, and in other years BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL
date. The edge of the coin is milled diagonally. The value of the guinea had fluctuated over
the years from 20 to 30 shillings and back down to 21 shillings and sixpence by the start
of George's reign. A royal proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea
at 21shillings. George II
King 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, 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.
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
The guineas of King George III weighed 8.4 g and were 24 mm in diameter, with an average
gold purity of 0.9146. 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. 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 King 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 banknotes 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.
Nineteenth century
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 around the edge, and "1813" between the edge inscription
and the garter. Replacement by the pound
In the Great Recoinage of 1816, 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. 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 is traditionally
the auctioneer's commission. Many major horse races in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, New
Zealand 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. Gallery
See also Egyptian pound, the native name of which is
derived from the guinea, to which it was approximately equal in value in the late 19th century.
References
External links British Coins
British gold coins Guinea Archive - A gallery of Guinea pictures,
varieties and values.