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{{Redirect|Guineas||Guinea (disambiguation)}}
[[File:5 Guineas, James II, England, 1688 - Bode-Museum - DSC02761.jpg|thumb
The '''guinea''' ({{IPAc-en|'|g|I|n|i:}}
[[Image:Guinea Spade 692183.jpg|thumb
== Origin ==
The first guinea was produced on
The coin was originally worth twenty shillings (one pound
The diameter of the coin was {{cvt|1|inch|mm|1}} throughout Charles II's reign, and the average gold purity (from an [[Trial of the Pyx|assay]] done in 1773 of samples of the coins produced during the preceding year) 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 (region)|Guinea]] (largely modern [[Ghana]]) in [[West Africa]].<ref>Chambers, Robert, ''Domestic Annals of Scotland''. Edinburgh: W & R Chambers, 1885. p. 259.</ref>
The coin was produced
== Seventeenth century ==
[[Image:Guinea 641642.jpg|thumb
The obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by [[John Roettiers]] (1631–{{circa|1700}}). 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 {{sc|carolvs ii dei gratia}} ("[[Charles II of England|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 {{sc|mag br fra et hib rex}} ("Of [[Great Britain]], [[British claims to the French throne|France]], and [[Hibernia|Ireland]] King"). 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.
[[File:1686-Guinea-elephant-and-castle-James-II.jpg|thumb|right
=== James II ===
John Roettiers continued to design the dies for this denomination during the reign of [[James II of England|King James II]]. In this reign, the coins weighed {{cvt|8.5|g|ozt|2}} with a diameter of {{cvt|25|–|26|mm|in|2}}, 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 {{sc|iacobvs 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.
===
[[Image:William and Mary Guinea 612668.jpg|thumb
With the removal of James II in the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, his daughter [[Mary II of England|Mary]] and her husband [[William III of England|Prince William of Orange]] reigned jointly as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the guinea piece in Roman style, with William's head uppermost, with the legend {{sc|gvlielmvs et maria dei gratia}} ("William and Mary by the grace of God"). 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 [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] in the second quarter, and of [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] in the third quarter, the whole ensemble having a small shield in the centre bearing the rampant lion of [[Nassau (state)|Nassau]]; the legend on the obverse read {{sc|mag br fr et hib rex et regina}} (Of "Magna Britannia" Great Britain, "Francia" France and "Hibernia" Ireland King and Queen) and the year. By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to nearly 30 shillings. The guineas of this reign weighed {{cvt|8.5|g|oz|2}}, were {{cvt|25|–|26|mm|in|2}} in diameter, and were the work of James and Norbert Roettiers. They 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.
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[[George I of Great Britain|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 {{sc|georgivs d g mag br fr et hib rex f d}} ("George, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, {{Lang|la|[[Fidei Defensor]]|italic=no}}"), while the later coins bear the legend {{sc|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 {{sc|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 {{sc|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 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. In 1717, Great Britain adopted the [[gold standard]], at a rate of one guinea to 129.438 [[grain (unit)|grain]]s ({{cvt|8.38|g|oz|2|disp=comma}}) of [[crown gold]], which was [[Carat (purity)|22 carat]] gold,<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles P. |last=Kindleberger |author-link=Charles P. Kindleberger |title=A financial history of western Europe |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=1993 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PFgIE7_eYwwC
=== George II ===
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In the [[Great Recoinage of 1816]], the guinea was replaced by the pound as the major unit of currency, and in coinage by the [[Sovereign (British coin)|sovereign]].
== Twentieth century onwards ==
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. The difference (5p in each guinea) is traditionally the auctioneer's commission (which thus, effectively, amounts to 5% on top of the sales price free from commission). Many major horse races in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia bear names ending in "Guineas", even though the
▲Even after the guinea coin ceased to circulate, the ''guinea'' was long used as a [[unit of account]] worth 21 shillings (£1.05 in decimalised currency). The guinea had an aristocratic overtone, so professional fees, and prices of land, horses, art, [[bespoke]] tailoring, furniture, [[major appliance|white goods]] and other "luxury" items were often quoted in guineas until a couple of years after decimalisation in 1971.<ref>{{cite book|first=John A.|last=Flood|title=Barristers' Clerks: Middlemen of the Law|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1983|url=http://www.johnflood.co.uk/pdfs/Barristers_Clerks_book_1983.pdf|access-date=2009-03-01|isbn=0-7190-0928-6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502002137/http://www.johnflood.co.uk/pdfs/Barristers_Clerks_book_1983.pdf|archive-date=2006-05-02|url-status=dead}}</ref> The guinea was used in a similar way in Australia until that country converted to decimal currency in 1966, after which it became worth A$2.10.
=== Commemorative £2 coin (2013) ===▼
▲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. The difference (5p in each guinea) is traditionally the auctioneer's commission (which thus, effectively, amounts to 5% on top of the sales price free from commission). Many major horse races in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia bear names ending in "Guineas", even though the nominal values of their [[purse distribution|purses]] today are much higher than the £1,050 or £2,100 suggested by their names.{{efn|for example, the [[Caulfield Guineas]], the [[2000 Guineas Stakes]], [[New Zealand 1000 Guineas]]}}
In 2013 the [[Royal Mint]] issued a [[£2 coin]] to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the minting of the first guinea coin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Two Pound Coins|url=http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/coin-design-and-specifications/two-pound-coin|website=[[Royal Mint]]|access-date=31 October 2016|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111230226/http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/coin-design-and-specifications/two-pound-coin|url-status=live}}</ref> The new coin was designed by the artist [[Anthony Smith (sculptor)|Anthony Smith]] and features a reworking of the ''spade guinea'' from the late 18th century. The edge of the coin contains a quotation from the writer [[Stephen Kemble|Stephen Kemble (1758–1822)]]: "
▲== Commemorative £2 coin (2013) ==
▲|url=http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/coin-design-and-specifications/two-pound-coin|website=[[Royal Mint]]|access-date=31 October 2016 }}</ref> The new coin was designed by the artist [[Anthony Smith (sculptor)|Anthony Smith]] and features a reworking of the ''spade guinea'' from the late 18th century. The edge of the coin contains a quotation from the writer [[Stephen Kemble|Stephen Kemble (1758–1822)]]: "''What is a guinea? ‘Tis a splendid thing.''" This was the first time in the United Kingdom that one coin has been used to celebrate another.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 350th Anniversary of the Guinea 2013
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
</gallery>
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{{Portal|Money|Numismatics}}
* [[Angel (coin)]], the coin the guinea replaced.
==Notes==
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== External links ==
{{commons|Guinea coins}}
*
{{British coinage}}
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