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 the word "guinea" became a colloquial or specialised term. Although the coin itself no longer circulated, the term ''guinea'' 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}} }}