George IV 1823 Two-Pounds MS61

George IV (1820-30), gold Two-Pounds, 1823, bare head left, tiny J.B.M. below truncation for engraver Jean Baptiste Merlen, abbreviated Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F:D:, rev. St George and dragon right, W.W.P. below broken lance on ground-line for Mint Master William Wellesley Pole, date in exergue, initials B.P. to upper right of exergue for engraver Benedetto Pistrucci, edge engraved in raised letters, DECUS ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI IV., weight 16.00g (Schneider 635; MCE 470; S.3798; Fr.375; KM.690). Lightly toned, has been slabbed and graded by NGC as MS61.

NGC Certification 5880617-022.

The Latin legends translate as "George the Fourth by the Grace of God, King of all the Britons, Defender of the Faith" and on the edge as "An ornament and a safeguard, in the fourth year of the reign". The various initials that feature on the coin are for the engravers and Master of the Mint as shown above. William Wellesley Pole was the elder brother of the Duke of Wellington.

The gold output of £759,749 for the calendar year of 1823 is actually the lowest of the reign which is paradoxical as this is the only year where there are three currency denominations struck from Double-Sovereign to Half-Sovereign. The next lowest is 1828 with just over a million pounds of gold produced whereas all the other years of the reign range from £2.3million to £9.5million.