Value of spade half and full guineas

canadiancoinguy

What would be a good price for those these days? I don't remember the dates, but I was offered a half guinea for $90 (G), and a full guinea (VG-F cleaned) for $200. Would those prices be a deal, or pretty much what they basically worth?

lordmarcovan

Common "Spade"-type half-guineas (KM608) list for $100 F / 125 VF / 225 XF / 500 UNC in the Second Edition Krause, but that was compiled in 1997 or so. They're all basically the same price except for the 1787 proof, the 1792 (listed only as "Rare"), and the 1800, which is a slightly better date.

The common guineas (KM609) list for $125 F / 175 VF / 350 XF / 650 UNC. They're all the same price except the 1787 proof and the 1796, which is a slightly better date in VF and above.

I bought a 1790 Spade guinea in 1996 or so for $150 that was advertised as "Extremely Fine", and got a scuffy but not bad-looking VF. (This was in my pre-Internet days when I still bought sight-unseen raw coins from mailorder dealers). I figured the $150 was a good buy, despite the overgrading (which was to be expected, since a properly-graded EF at that price would've been too good to be true.)

The coins are .917 fine, BTW. There's .1230 oz. bullion in the half-guineas and .2461 oz. in the full guineas. While you're gonna pay a lot more than their melt regardless, it may be that higher bullion prices have affected these since my edition of Krause came out.

A few years ago I was able to buy a cute little third-guinea for melt because it had a mount removed. And I have a 1787 holed half-guinea on my Holey Gold Hat that I probably paid $80-90 for. So while the prices you mentioned are high, they might just get what they're asking, from somebody.

Aethelred

I would hold out for better grade coins, they will be worth more in the long run.

canadiancoinguy

Thanks guys! I'll hold out for something better, then.