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2 Pounds - Elizabeth II 4th portrait, Golden Guinea
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
| Type | Commemorative circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ELIZABETH·II·DEI·GRA·REG·FID·DEF IRB ·TWO POUNDS· (Translation: Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God Queen Defender of the Faith) |
| Reverse description | Central design featuring the crowned royal shield of arms, closely modelled after the spade-shaped heraldic shield that appeared on the gold Guinea coinage of King George III, specifically the type issued from 1787 onward. The shield displays the quartered arms of the United Kingdom within an ornate cartouche surmounted by the Royal Crown. A circular commemorative legend surrounds the central device, with the date 2013 positioned in the lower portion of the field. The overall design evokes the aesthetic of late eighteenth-century British coinage in deliberate homage to the 350th anniversary of the introduction of the Guinea. |
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| Additional information |
The "Golden Guinea" two-pound issue commemorates the guinea, a gold coin first struck in 1663 from West African gold imported by the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading into Africa — hence the name. The guinea circulated at varying rates against the pound for over a century before being fixed at 21 shillings in 1717, a valuation set personally by Isaac Newton in his capacity as Master of the Mint. It was officially demonetized in 1816 during the Great Recoinage that shifted Britain definitively onto the gold standard.
The guinea persisted in professional fees and auction pricing well into decimalization — Sotheby's and Christie's quoted in guineas until 1969.