RARE Great Britain Gold Guinea 1794

Gold Guinea of 1794. Issued for king George III, (1760-1820).

Catalogued as S-3729, KM 609.

George III, Fifth Head The fifth issue of George III guineas is probably the best known. They featured a spade shaped shield as the reverse design.

Obverse Fifth head of George III, facing right. GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA

Reverse Crowned shade shaped shield, with date below. M B F ET H REX F D B ET L D S R I A T ET E

The one Guinea gold coin took it's name from the region of West Africa where much of the Gold for the coins originally came from.  It contains approximately 8.4 grams of 22ct gold - almost exactly 1/4 oz fine Gold. The coins are approximately 24mm in diameter (the specification varied slightly throughout the 151 (1663-1814) years of it's life.

 The Guinea (worth 21 shillings)  was eventually replaced by the smaller Gold Sovereign (worth 20 shillings) in 1817 but the use of the unit continues to this day - implying a commission of 5% on the pound value.

The guinea was a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally worth one pound sterling, equal to twenty shillings, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings.

When Britain adopted the gold standard the guinea became a colloquial or specialised term. Although no longer circulated, the term guinea survives as a unit of account in some fields. Notable usages include horse racing, and in the sale of rams to mean an amount of one pound and one shilling (21 shillings) or one pound and five pence (£1.05) in decimalised currency. The name also forms the basis for the Arabic word for the Egyptian pound الجنيه el-Genēh / el-Geni, as a sum of 100 qirsh (one pound) was worth approximately 21 shillings at the end of the 19th century.

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Reference : https://24carat.co.uk/ , https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_(coin)