Guinea 1677 King Charles II, Coin from England - detailed information

Guinea 1677 King Charles II, Coin from England (demonetised 1816)
CoinGuinea 1677 King Charles II

The Guinea is a coin minted in England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1814, which contains approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. Its name comes from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where much of the gold used to make the coins was sourced. It is the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally representing a value of 20 shillings in sterling specie, equal to one pound, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase later, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings.

The designs of the coins, as was typical of the period, are generally exactly the same as those of other denominations and, given that their values are not inscribed on the coins, the inscriptions are the same too. Thus, coins issued at the same time look virtually the same and the different denominations can only be distinguished by their composition and size. The composition of the guinea is "crown gold": a 22 karat (kt) gold alloy first used in the crown coin introduced in England in 1526

The Guinea denominations were demonetised with the recoinage of 1816.

Both sides of the coins of King Charles II were designed by John Roettiers.

MintRoyal Mint Mint MarkNo mint mark Mintageunknown
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Obverse
England / Guinea 1677 King Charles II - obverse photo

Within a toothed border, the obverse of the coin depicts the fourth laureate bust of King Charles II, designed by John Roettiers. The King has long flowing hair held with a laurel wreath, and faces right.

Around left and around right, part of the monarch's legend: CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA, which in Latin means "Charles the Second, by the Grace of God". The rest of the legend is on the reverse.

Obverse Inscription CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Reverse
England / Guinea 1677 King Charles II - reverse photo

Within a toothed border, the reverse design features a cruciform of four crowned shields forming a cross around the four intertwined letters C. The shields bear the arms of England (top): three lions "passant guardant", Scotland (right): a rampant lion, France (below): three fleurs-de-lis, and Ireland (left): a harp.

In the angles are four sceptres dividing the shields, surmounted respectively by an orb with cross (for England), thistle (for Scotland), fleur-de-lis (for France), and harp (for Ireland).

Around above, divided by the crown on the top English shield, the date of issue 1677.

Around the rim, interrupted by the crowns, the continuation of the monarch's legend: · MAG · BR · FRA · ET · HIB · REX ·. This is abbreviated from "Magnae Britanniae, Franciae et Hiberniae Rex" and means "of Great Britain, France and Ireland King". The mention of France, and the inclusion of the French shield in the design, reflect the king's claim to the throne of France - which he did not actually rule.

As was normal for the time, the denomination of the coin is not inscribed anywhere.

Reverse Inscription · MAG · BR · FRA · ET · HIB · REX · 1677
EdgeDiagonal millingEdge InscriptionNone
Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Known varieties
Variety With elephant and castle
Images England / Guinea 1677 King Charles II / With elephant and castle - obverse photo England / Guinea 1677 King Charles II / With elephant and castle - reverse photo
Mintage Issued: unknown
Details

A small elephant carrying a "howdah" (castle) below the portrait of the king; this was the emblem of the Royal African Company (RAC), which had been granted a monopoly on English trade with Africa in slaves, gold and other goods, from 1672 until 1698, and signifies that the gold for that particular coin was imported by the company.

Variety GRATIR error (no elephant)
Mintage Issued: unknown
Details

Error coin. R instead of the second A in DEI GRATIA, on coin without the elephant and castle on the obverse.

Variety Inverted A error
Mintage Issued: unknown
Details

Error coin. Instead o V in CAROLVS, there is an inverted letter A.

Variety GRATIR error (with elephant)
Mintage Issued: unknown
Details

Error coin. R instead of the second A in DEI GRATIA, on coin with the elephant and castle on the obverse.

Variety With elephant
Mintage Issued: unknown
Details

On the obverse, there is an elephant which does not carry a castle. 1677/5 overdate.

All (26) coins of type: Guinea (8.385 - 8.53 g gold)
Coin NameMintageEffigyLegend
Guinea 1663 King Charles II, First Bust unknown King Charles II - First Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1663 King Charles II, Second Bust unknown King Charles II - Second Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1664 King Charles II, Second Bust unknown King Charles II - Second Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1664 King Charles II, Third Bust unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1665 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1666 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1667 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1668 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1669 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1670 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1671 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1672 King Charles II, Third Bust unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1672 King Charles II, Fourth Bust unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1673 King Charles II, Third Bust unknown King Charles II - Third Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1673 King Charles II, Fourth Bust unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1674 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1675 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1676 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1677 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1678 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1679 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1680 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1681 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1682 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1683 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
Guinea 1684 King Charles II unknown King Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRATIA
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Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Details
CountryEngland
CurrencyPound Sterling (England)
Coin TypeGuinea (8.385 - 8.53 g gold)
Issued1677
MonarchKing Charles II
EffigyKing Charles II - Fourth Laureate Bust
ReverseCruciform Shields England / Scotland / France / Ireland
Face Value20 (x Shilling)
Mintageunknown
CurrentNo; demonetised 1816
Material0.9167 Gold
DesignerJohn Roettiers
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound
OrientationCoin Alignment (Axis 6)
Size25.0000 mm
Mass8.3850 g
OCC IDMXKD-OKQC-KGMJ-OWQJ
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Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Photos
ImageDetails
Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Photo 1677 Guinea S-3344 / thumbnail 1677 Guinea S-3344
Copyright: PCGS
Source
Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Photo 1677 Guinea S-3344 / thumbnail 1677 Guinea S-3344
Copyright: PCGS
Source
Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Photo 1677 Guinea S-3345 Elephant & Castle / thumbnail 1677 Guinea S-3345 Elephant & Castle
Copyright: PCGS
Source
Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Photo 1677 Guinea S-3345 Elephant & Castle / thumbnail 1677 Guinea S-3345 Elephant & Castle
Copyright: PCGS
Source
Guinea 1677 King Charles II: Catalogue Reference IDs
SourceReference ID
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom3344 (no elephant)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom3345 (elephant and castle), 3346 (elephant only)
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the WorldGreat Britain Fr. 287
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World289 (elephant and castle), 288a (elephant only)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World CoinsGreat Britain KM# 440.1, 440.2 (with elephant)