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JM33273

James II 1686 Guinea Elephant & Castle, Royal African Company issue

Regular price £8,750
Regular price Sale price £8,750

James II (1685-88), gold Guinea, 1686, Elephant and Castle below bust, second laureate head left, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding both sides, IACOBVS. II. DEI. GRATIA, rev. crowned cruciform shields, emblematic sceptres in angles, date either side of top crown, five strings to Irish harp, .MAG. BR. FRA. ET. HIB REX., edge obliquely milled, weight 8.24g (Schneider -; Farey 285; MCE 127; EGC 328; S.3401). Toned with mint brilliance in the recesses, perhaps once wiped, some flecking and contact marks, well engraved dies and a pleasing very fine, very rare.

The Latin legends translate as on the obverse "James the Second, by the Grace of God," and abbreviated on the reverse as "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland."

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.

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