Guinea Gold Coin

George I Guinea Reverse




George I Guinea Obverse




Spade Guinea Reverse




Spade Guinea Obverse

The Guinea Gold Coin was first minted in 1663 for King Charles II and replaced Laurels gold coins that were minted for King James I. The Guinea gold coin was the first British machine- struck gold coin and was minted until 1813. The name "Guinea" was adapted as the coins were struck mainly from the gold mined in the African country Guinea. Some early issues of Guineas in 17th century even had a symbol of the Royal African Company – an elephant and a castle.

The Guinea gold coin was initially worth one pound or 20 shillings, but as gold devaluated, the value of the Guinea changed and was set to 22 shillings. At the present, the value of guinea is considered to be 21 shillings. The weight of the original Guinea was 8.3 – 8.4 grams, diameter 25 mm with the gold composition of 0.9100. The weight, diameter, and composition of the Guinea gold coin were changing through the time it was issued, but not greatly and were always quite close to what they were originally..

The Guinea gold coin was minted for almost two centuries and under the majority of British monarchs. In the 17th century, the Guineas were minted for King Charles II and Mary and Prince William of Orange. In the 18th century, there were issues for Queen Anne and King George I, George II, and George III. The famous "Spade Guinea" was minted under George III started from 1787. In 19th century, Guineas were minted only for George III.

The last issue of Guinea gold coin was in 1813 under George III when it was replaced with the gold Sovereign. At this time, there were three denominations of the coin: 1/3 Guinea, 1/2 Guinea, and 1 Guinea. You can see specifications of the Guinea gold coin minted in 19th century in the table below:

The Guinea gold coin is a quite popular gold coin of the old times. There were millions of uineas minted during its time and millions were melted and re-minted. Yet, there're still usually a nice selection of Guineas online available for grabs both older and newer periods.

You can see current listings for Guinea gold coins here: