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George I 1726 Guinea AU53, fifth bust, Elephant & Castle
George I (1714-27), gold Guinea, 1726, with elephant and castle below fifth laureate head right, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIVS. D G. M. BR. FR. ET. HIB. REX. F.D, some stops weak or absent, rev. crowned cruciform broad shields, incorporating the Arms of Hanover, ornamental sceptres in angles, garter star at centre, date either side of top crown, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, .BRVN ET L. DVX S.R.I.A:TH ET. EL., edge obliquely grained, weight 8.32g (Schneider 550; Bull EGC 528 R4; MCE 262; Farey 705 ER; S.3633). Attractively toned with some light marks and scuffs, wear to high points, has been graded and slabbed by NGC as AU53, extremely rare, the first we have offered for sale.
NGC Certification 2130715-029.
The abbreviated Latin legends translate as on the obverse "George by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith" and on the reverse as "Duke of Brunswick and Luneberg, High Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire."
For the calendar year 1726, £872,963 worth of gold was produced into coin at the mint. Many of them would have been gold Guineas but seemingly only £18,000 worth would have had the elephant and castle provenance mark.
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, but from 1692 onwards things became more problematic. The Nine Years War with France did not help, as well as competition from other traders over the African monopoly the company seemed to hold along with the East India Company for the Far East. In 1697 a compromise agreement was reached allowing others to trade in Africa as long as they paid a 10% tariff to the R.A.C. This meant that less gold was actually being brought back to the UK to coin and the issues were subsequently small. The last elephant and castle Five Guinea coin was produced in 1699 and not long after the War of the Spanish succession reduced activity further with no Africa gold issues for the first few years of Queen Anne's reign. Only guineas were produced for 1707-1709 as the company edged toward bankruptcy. No coins would be produced for another 12 years into the second half of the reign of George I with an issue in 1721 and 1722 upon resumption of trading voyages after the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718-21) ended. The final issue of an elephant and castle marked coin is of the guinea as we have offered here, the £18,000 gold for which was all imported to England in August 1726 upon the R.A.C. ship Clarendon.
Provenance:
Ex Dresdner Bank, Duisburg, purchased November 1982.
Ex Dr Rolf Baumhauer, British Gold Collection, Part 3, Sincona Auction 79, 24th October 2022, lot 1245.
FAQs
What makes a coin valuable?

I have coins to sell, what’s the next step?

How will my purchases be shipped?

What happens if I’m not entirely happy with my purchase?

