| Coin | Half Guinea 2024 Cruciform and Sceptre |
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Saint Helena is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean which is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The currency of the island is the Saint Helena pound, fixed at parity with the pound sterling. The island has authorised some private mints to issue coins under its jurisdiction, which come in a variety of sizes. Some of them are non-standard and/or one-off issues in gold, such as this one.
This coin pays tribute to the original "Guinea" coinage of Great Britain, and features the very first Guinea design - the Cruciform and Sceptre.
The reverse design of the first Guineas by John Roettiers, struck during the reign of King Charles II, featured four crowned shields carrying the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland and France in a cross or "cruciform" arrangement. The heraldic shields were separated by sceptres with four intertwined letter "C"s at their centre, being the initial of Charles II.
The coin is in 22 carat gold just like the original guineas. Also, just like on the originals, the face value and denomination are not actually written on the coin. Traditionally, a guinea was worth 21 shillings at a time when one pound was 20 shillings, which means that the current decimal equivalent would be £1.05, and a half guinea would be rounded to 50 pence. Following the tradition of the time, the face value is not actually inscribed on the coin. |
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows the bare (uncrowned) head of King Charles III facing left.
In tiny letters on the neck truncation, the artist's initials: GD (for Glyn Davies).
Around, the monarch's legend: CHARLES III · DEI · GRA · REX · F · D · ST. HELENA · 2024 ·. Translated from Latin, the legend means: Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith, Saint Helena.
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| Reverse | |
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At its centre, the reverse of the coin shows a cruciform with the elements of the Coat of Arms of King Charles II: the crowned shields of the kingdoms of England ( three lions "passant guardant"), Scotland (a rampant lion), France (which the king never actually ruled - he was a pretender for the crown - represented by three fleurs-de-lis), and Ireland (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).
At centre, four interlocking letters C (the King's initial).
Around above, divided by the crown on the shield of England, the date 2024.
On the original guinea, the beginning of the monarch's legend was on the obverse and then it continued on the reverse as "MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX", which 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.
On this coin, this has been "adapted", or modernised, to reflect the status of the current King, Charles III: · MAG · BRITT · HIB. SEP · REX · - omitting the reference to France, and changing the reference for Ireland to Hibernia Septentrionalis - Northern Ireland. In other words: King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. |
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| Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Finish: Proof FDC.
Packaging: individually boxed coin (500 coins), or in sets.
Release price: £395.00.
Release date: 10 April 2024.
The East India Company usually issues the Guinea denomination with a bespoke "compass milling" with four sets of 13 mills totaling 52 to reflect the passing of time separated by compass point single mills denoting navigation. However, it is not clear (at least not to us) whether the half guinea piece is like that too. Note that there is a mismatch between the reverse and obverse images supplied by the company - one shows even milling, the other interrupted milling, and these images are the same for all five coin sizes (5, 2, 1, half, and quarter guinea). We have not been able to find actual photos. |
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