Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Guinea - William III early harp
| Issuer | England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1695 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | James Roettier |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Laureate and draped right-facing effigy of King William III, the hair rendered in flowing locks falling to the shoulder, set within a plain inner field. The portrait is executed in high relief in the characteristic style of the late 17th-century English milled coinage. The circular Latin legend runs from lower left to lower right around the periphery, separated from the bust by the coin's inner border of beads. The overall composition reflects the engraving style associated with the Roettier workshop. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
William III's early coinage is distinguished by a notably crude harp on the Irish quarter of the shield — a design so criticised at the time that it was revised within a few years of his accession. The 1695 date falls squarely in this early period, before the major recoinage of 1696 which was driven not by aesthetic concerns but by the catastrophic state of English silver currency, clipped and debased to the point where commerce was grinding to a halt. Gold issues of this moment circulated in a monetary environment under severe stress.
The early harp variety is the distinguishing factor for KM#487.1 against its successors.