William III 1699 Five-Guineas, first date for denomination in this reign

William III (1694-1702), gold Five Guineas, 1699, first laureate bust right, legend and toothed border surrounding, GVLIELMVS. III. DEI. GRA., the last two words further apart, rev. crowned cruciform emblematic shields, six strings to Irish harp, emblematic sceptres in angles, Lion of Nassau at centre, date either side of top crown, legend and toothed border surrounding, .MAG. BR. FRA. ET.HIB. REX., edge inscribed in raised letters, inverted As for Vs in error, +. DECVS. ET. TVTAMEN. ANNO. REGNI. UNDECIMO., weight 41.55g (Schneider 478; Holloway 58; Bull EGC 393; MCE 169; S.3454). Peppered with tiny nicks and digs both sides with some hairline marks, perhaps once cleaned, some haymarking, very fine, bolder in parts.

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

There are only three years that are possible to collect for the Five Guineas of William III and four varieties in total, 1699 is the earliest with two varieties, either with or without the elephant and castle below. This is the provenance mark of the Royal African Company of England as it had been named since refinancing in 1672, and the issue of the largest denomination of the Five Guinea was a rare occurrence by this time there not being any since the reign of William and Mary. This is in fact the final Five Guineas to have ever been minted with this provenance mark and sporadic issues afterward are of the Guinea or smaller. "The Rarity of Five Guinea Pieces - An Analysis" appeared in the preface of the Samuel King Collection of Highly Important English Gold Coins sold at Spink on 5^th May 2005 co-written by the present cataloguer. The analysis showed that over a 45-year period preceding 2005, since 1960 that only 29 examples of the Five Guineas dated 1699 with elephant and castle below bust had been bought or sold in numismatic commerce, making it the rarest and most seldom seen of the four varieties of these large coins. £141,377 worth of gold for calendar year 1699 which is the third lowest for gold production in the seven years of dates in this reign, though of course we do not know how the output would be broken down between the gold denominations nor how long a date on a coin die would have lasted into a following calendar year.