William III 1700 Five-Guineas, rarest date for denomination in reign, AU58

William III (1694-1702), gold Five Guineas, 1700, first laureate head right, legend and toothed border surrounding, GVLIELMVS. III. DEI. GRA., rev. crowned cruciform shields, 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, upright orientation to obverse, +DECVS. ET. TVTAMEN. ANNO. REGNI. DVODECIMO. (Schneider -; MCE 171; Bull EGC 396; S.3454). Reddish tone with light surface marks, has been slabbed and graded by NGC as AU58, the rarest date for the denomination in this reign, date absent from the Schneider Collection, rare.

NGC certification 6135246-009.

We note as of September 2021 that of the 13 examples graded across both services that only four grade finer.

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.. "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 45 examples of the Five Guineas dated 1700 had been bought or sold in numismatic commerce, making it the rarest and most seldom seen of the three dates of these large coins. £120,212 worth of gold for calendar year 1700 which is the 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. The king survey records that a total of 91 five guinea pieces were in commerce dated 1699 (29 being of the African company) and a massive 256 for the fine work of 1701. The year 1700 is therefore the hardest to fid as a Five Guinea for this reign.