My Little Guinea - Great Britain George II 1750

WillieBoyd2

No doubt many have read Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel Treasure Island
at some time or another.

I read it and also saw the 1950 Walt Disney film with Robert Newton as the infamous pirate cook
Long John Silver.

The book mentioned Guineas as being part of the treasure, and in the film,
a sailor is angry that all they have found is a Guinea.

The book was set around 1765, with the treasure being buried in 1750.

Well, I had to have a Guinea and now I do, thanks to one of our well-known coin brokers.



Great Britain Gold Guinea 1750

Obverse:
George II facing left
GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (George II, by the Grace of God)

Reverse:
Crowned arms of Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Hannover
1750

M.B.F.ET.H.REX.F.D.B.ET.L.D.S.R.I.A.T.ET.E
Which means:
MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX FIDEI DEFENSOR
Great Britain France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith
BRVNSWICENSIS ET LVNEBVRGENSIS
Brunswick and Lueneburg Duke
DVX SACRI ROMANI IMPERII ARCHI THESAVRARIVS ET PRINCEPS ELECTOR
Holy Roman Empire Arch-Treasurer and Prince-Elector

Metal: Gold
Size: 25mm
Weight: 8.24gm

The coin was graded by NGC "VF Details / Removed from jewelry",
but I like to think that the marks on the coin are from it's being handled or even worn by a pirate.

The coins were called "Guineas" as the gold came from the African country of Guinea.

A Guinea was worth about a British pound at the time, or about 4-1/2 Spanish dollars in the
American colonies.

Pirates probably valued it in barrels or rum or ...

JCMhouston

Very nice, I can imagine a pirate having it.

ProofArtworkonCircs

According to Wikipedia a guinea was worth 21 shillings or one pound one shilling from 1717 on.

lordmarcovan

Great goldie, WB2.

I've had a 1714 Queen Anne and a George III "Spade" guinea, but never any of that type you have.

I wonder how many of those are in the ground on the colonial sites around here. Probably not too many, but I read that a 1766 example (with Ephraim Brasher's EB counterstamp!) was dug in one of our local parks. I have never been able to confirm that story, but the detectorist named as being the finder has some national reknown for his finds in the Savannah area, so it's plausible. (And I think I remember seeing a picture of the coin somewhere.)

bronzemat

Lovely coin!

Swampboy

<< <i>but I like to think that the marks on the coin are from it's being handled or even worn by a pirate >>

Weiss

It's a cool piece and I like how it's tied to a classic book. But the age of pirates was over by the 1720s and what most of us think of as pirates actually ended before the turn of the 17th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Piracy


This is pirate treasure:

Swampboy

<< <i>It's a cool piece and I like how it's tied to a classic book. But the age of pirates was over by the 1720s and what most of us think of as pirates actually ended before the turn of the 17th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Piracy


This is pirate treasure:

>>



That certainly is 'certified' pirate treasure.