Charles II 1684 Five-Guineas 4 over 3, Elephant & Castle, second bust, final year

Charles II (1660-85), gold Five Guineas, 1684, the 4 of date struck over a 3, elephant and castle below, second laureate head right, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, CAROLVS. II. DEI. GRATIA, rev. crowned cruciform shields, sceptres in angles, four interlinked Cs at centre, date either side of top crown, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, MAG. BR. FRA. ET. HIB REX., edge inscribed in Latin raised letters, .+.DECVS. ET. TVTAMEN. ANNO. REGNI. TRICESIMO. SEXTO.+., weight 41.72g (Schneider 428; Holloway 39; Bull EGC 201; MCE 30; S.3332). Of bright underlying appearance perhaps from prior cleansing, light overtone with flecking both sides, rim bruise at top of obverse and another at top of reverse, die flaw behind head, a couple of digs, otherwise very fine, the final date of the reign.

The Latin legends translate as on the obverse "Charles the second by the Grace of God," and abbreviated on the reverse as "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland" and finally on edge "an ornament and a safeguard, in the thirty sixth year of his reign" The regnal year was counted from the time his Father Charles I died in January 1648/9.

The elephant and castle provenance mark is indicative of being issued by the "Royal African Company of England" as it had been so reconstructed by the Duke of York from 1672. The "R.A.C." was quite a success trading with Africa and the New World through the 1670s and 1680s. For further reading see the new publication by Graham Birch "The Metal in Britain's Coins" Chapter Three - The Royal African Company and the Golden Guineas p.33-57.

The total gold output for the calendar year 1684 amounted to £284,488, a proportion of which would be the elephant and castle marked coinage.

The "Samuel King" Survey, "The Rarity of Five Guinea Pieces - An Analysis" co-authored by this cataloguer revealed a total of only 33 examples of the 1684 elephant and castle five guinea passing through the British market place in a 45 year period up until 2005.

Provenance:

Ex Seaby Coin and Medal Bulletin, June 1983, item GG136.