Guinea (coin): Difference between revisions

The '''guinea''' ({{IPAc-en|'|g|I|n|i:}}; commonly abbreviated '''gn.''', or '''gns.''' in plural)<ref name="Abbreviations">{{cite book |year=1998 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-1928-0003-5}}</ref> was a coin, minted in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]] between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of [[gold]].<ref name="Roberts">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Chris |year=2006 |title=''Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme'' |publisher=Thorndike Press |isbn=0-7862-8517-6}}</ref> The name came from the [[Guinea (region)|Guinea]] region in West Africa, from where much of the gold used to make the coins was sourced.<ref>Chambers, Robert, ''Domestic Annals of Scotland''. Edinburgh: W & R Chambers, 1885. p. 259.</ref> It was the first English machine-struck [[gold coin]], originally representing a value of 20 [[Shilling (British coin)|shilling]]s in [[Coins of the United Kingdom|sterling specie]], equal to one [[Pound (currency)Pound_sterling|pound]],<ref name = "Roberts"/> 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 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Guinea (coin) |display=Guinea |volume=12 |page=697}}</ref>

In the [[Great Recoinage of 1816]], the guinea was [[Legal tender#Demonetization|demonetised]] and replaced by the [[Sovereign (British coin)|gold sovereign]]. Following the Great Recoinage, the word "guinea" becamewas retained as a colloquial or specialised term., Althougheven though the coincoins itselfwere no longer circulated,in use; the term ''guinea'' also survived as a [[unit of account]] in some fields. Notable usages included professional fees (medical, legal, etc.), which were often invoiced in guineas, and [[horse racing]] and [[Greyhound racing in Ireland|greyhound racing]],<ref name = "Roberts"/> and the sale of [[Domestic sheep|rams]]. In each case a guinea meant an amount of one [[Pound (currency)Pound_sterling|pound]] and one shilling (21 shillings, £1.05 in decimal notation).{{efn|At 2021 prices, the [[purchasing power]] of an 1815 guinea is about £{{inflation|UK|1.05|1815|2021}} }}

The first guinea was produced on {{start date and age|1663|02|06|df=y|p=y}}; a proclamation of 27 March 1663 made the coins legal currency. One [[troy pound]] of {{frac|11|12}} (0.9133){{fact|date=December 2020}} fine gold (22 [[Carat (purity)|carat]] or 0.9167 pure by weight) would make {{frac|44|1|2}} guineas,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stride |first=H. G. |title=The Gold Coinage of Charles II |journal=British Numismatic Journal |volume=28 |year=1955 |pages=386–393 |url=https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/1955_BNJ_28_28.pdf |access-date=2020-12-24 |archive-date=2023-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415141814/https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/1955_BNJ_28_28.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> each thus theoretically weighing 129.438 grains (8.385 grams crown gold, 7.688 grams fine gold, or 0.247191011 ozt (troy ounces) fine gold).

The coin was produced every year between 1663 and 1684, with an elephant appearing on some coins<ref name=EB1911/> each year from 1663 to 1665 and 1668, and the elephant with a [[howdah]] on other coins minted from 1674 or 1675 onwards.<ref name=EB1911/> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Margolin |first1=Sam |chapter=Guineas |editor1-last=Rice |editor1-first=Kym S. |editor2-last=Katz-Hyman |editor2-first=Martha B. |title=World of a Slave: Encyclopedia of the Material Life of Slaves in the United States |date=13 December 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4_Qaju1WyoC |publisher=ABC-CLIO |publication-date=2010 |page=259 |isbn=9780313349430 |access-date=2015-02-08 |quote=The coins were named because much of the gold used to produce them came from the Gold or 'Guinea' Coast of West Africa and was provided by the Royal African Company, which had been granted a monopoly of the Africa trade from 1672 until 1698. Coins produced from African gold bore the company's distinctive emblem below the monarch's head: an elephant or elephant and a castellated howdah, an ornate canopied seat used for riding on elephants and camels. |archive-date=2024-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120112706/https://books.google.com/books?id=T4_Qaju1WyoC |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== MaryWilliam & WilliamMary ===

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 60–63] |isbn=0-19-507738-5 |oclc=26258644}}</ref><ref>Newton, Isaac, [http://www.pierre-marteau.com/editions/1701-25-mint-reports/report-1717-09-25.html ''Treasury Papers'', vol. ccviii. 43, Mint Office, 21 Sept. 1717] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406191205/http://www.pierre-marteau.com/editions/1701-25-mint-reports/report-1717-09-25.html |date=2017-04-06 }}</ref> and a royal proclamation in December of the same year fixed the value of the guinea at 21 shillings.

After the guinea coin ceased to circulate, the ''guinea'' continued in use 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 [[Decimal Day|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.

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 nominalreal 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]]}}

File:George II, GuineaTwo-Guineas, 6512911738.jpg|George II (two guineaguineas)

* {{cite web|url=http://onlinecoin.club/Coins/CoinType/United_Kingdom/Guinea/|title= Guinea, Coin Type from United Kingdom|website=Online Coin Club|accessdate=30 May 2022|archive-date=5 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605005732/https://onlinecoin.club/Coins/CoinType/United_Kingdom/Guinea/|url-status=dead}}