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2 Guineas - George I
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1717-1726 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of King George I facing right, with elaborately curled long wig tied at the nape, the laurel wreath rendered in high relief with broad leaves. The effigy, engraved by John Croker, displays strong portraiture with a prominent nose and firm jaw characteristic of Hanoverian royal imagery. The surrounding legend in Roman capitals reads GEORGIVS·D:G·MAG·BR·FR·ET·HIB·REX·F·D·, running clockwise from the lower left. The finely milled edge is visible at the coin's periphery, and the bold, well-struck portrait dominates the ample gold field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
George I never spoke fluent English and left the day-to-day business of government largely to his ministers, but his coinage tells a different administrative story. The 2 Guinea denomination itself was already archaic by his reign — the piece had been issued intermittently since Charles II, and by the early eighteenth century it occupied an awkward position in everyday commerce, too valuable for routine transactions and too small a premium over a single guinea to justify wide use.
Production was sporadic across the 1717–1726 window, with Isaac Newton serving as Master of the Mint for the opening years of the series — his tenure marked more by monetary reform than by any particular intervention in gold coinage design.