Description
George III, King of the Great Britain 1760-1820 AD, Gold Guinea dated 1794, Fifth Head, ‘Spade’ reverse. Obverse: Laureate Head of King George III facing right, legend around, “GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA·”. Reverse: Crowned ‘Spade’ Shaped Shield of Arms of Great Britain (1760-1801), legend around, “·M· B· F· ET· H· REX· F·D· B· ET· L· D· S· R· I· A· T· ET· E·”. Spink-3729. About Fine / Fine, reverse better.
The British gold Guinea was one of the denominations chosen during the Australian Proclamation of 1800 by Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales. It had a high face value of One Pound Two Shillings in order to disincentivize the removal of currency from within the Australian colonies. This coin, although a type struck by Great Britain, is still considered a piece of Australia’s early colonial history as a proclamation piece.