George II 1748 Five-Guineas, older head, NGC AU55

George II (1727-60), gold Five Guineas, 1748, older laureate head left, legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIVS.II. DEI.GRATIA, rev. crowned quartered shield of arms, nine strings to Irish harp, date either side of crown, M.B.F. ET. H. REX. F.D. B.ET. L. D. S. R. I. A. T ET. E., edge inscribed in raised letters of upright orientation to obverse, DECVS. ET. TVTAMEN. ANNO. REGNI. VICESIMO. SECVNDO. (Schneider 565, obv.9 / rev. 3; Holloway 90; Bull EGC 562; MCE 286; S.3666). Attractively toned, some light hairlines, has been slabbed and graded by NGC as AU55.

NGC Certification 452622-001.

No silver coins were struck in 1748 so the Mint concentrated on producing gold coin only of which £338,523 worth was produced in the calendar year across the four gold denominations. A new indenture was made on 7^th February 1748 with a new Master Worker William Chetwynd on the same terms as the previous to do with the coinage.

This is the penultimate currency Five Guinea piece with the last year being 1753. Herbert Schneider analysed the gold Five Guinea and Two Guinea coins of George II in his Spink Numismatic Circular article "The Five Guinea and Two Guinea Pieces of George II" in February 1957.

No currency Five Guineas were struck in the reign of George III though there were three different dates of patterns produced. According to "The Rarity of Five Guinea Pieces - An Analysis" which appeared in the preface of the Samuel King Collection of Highly Important English Gold, a survey of 45 years of dealer sales lists and auction catalogues from 1960-2005, a total of 105 examples of this date of Five Guinea were traced in commerce which is the joint second highest figure across the 8 possible dates of the reign.

Provenance:

Ex Heritage, New York Signature Sale, 6^th January 2013, lot 20843.

Ex Heritage, Long Beach Sale, 25^th September 2013, lot 24868.