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1 Guinea - George I 2nd portrait (1715)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1715 |
| Denomination | 1 Guinea |
| Face value | £1.05 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | Yes |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 8.400g · 0.2476 t oz |
| Diameter | 25.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Obv. artist | John Croker |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Second laureate portrait of King George I right, legend around.
GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D
Crowned cruciform shields around central Garter star with sceptres bearing national emblems in angles, divided date above, legend around.
BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL
1 Guinea - George I market value
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Daily limit reached1 Guinea - George I value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £700.00 🔒 | £800.00 (2) | – | £700.00 – £900.00 | 0 | 2 | 05-03-2023 | |
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| BU | £1,900.00 🔒 | £1,900.00 (1) | – | £600.00 – £1,900.00 | 0 | 8 | 04-06-2023 | |
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| EF | £1,200.00 🔒 | £1,250.00 | – | £1,200.00 – £1,400.00 | 0 | 3 | 04-09-2011 | |
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| VF | £1,927.26 🔒 | £1,927.26 (1) | – | £650.00 – £1,927.26 | 0 | 3 | 11-05-2025 | |
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| F | £550.00 🔒 | £950.00 | – | £550.00 – £1,500.00 | 0 | 5 | 06-06-2021 | |
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| VG | £900.00 🔒 | £750.00 (2) | – | £600.00 – £900.00 | 0 | 2 | 03-03-2019 | |
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| AU-53 | £2,800.00 🔒 | £2,800.00 (1) | – | £2,800.00 – £2,800.00 | 0 | 1 | 03-09-2023 | |
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| EF-40 | £1,800.00 🔒 | £1,800.00 (1) | – | £1,800.00 – £1,800.00 | 1 | 1 | 08-03-2026 | |
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About the 1715 1 Guinea - George I
The 1715 1 Guinea - George I is a circulating 1 guinea coin, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 8.4g and measures 25mm across. Reverse design: Crowned cruciform shields around central Garter star with sceptres bearing national emblems in angles, divided date above, legend around.
It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1715 1 Guinea - George I worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1715 1 Guinea - George I run from £750 to £2,800 across 8 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one. Its gold content is worth about £742 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
How many George I second portrait guineas were made?
No figure is published for the number of guineas struck in 1715, and no split exists between the second and third portraits used that year. The figure quoted for 1715 is the value of all gold coined that year, not a count of guineas.
How do you tell the second portrait guinea from the third?
Both are dated 1715. Dealers and auction houses describe the second head with a curl of hair below the truncation of the neck. Catalogues give it its own number (Spink 3629), separate from the third head (Spink 3630). Compare the hair at the neck with a confirmed example before buying.
Who designed the George I guinea?
John Croker, Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint from 1705 until his death in 1741, engraved almost all the dies for George I's coins, including the portraits. The Royal Mint and the Royal Mint Museum both credit him with George I's coinage.
What was a guinea worth in 1715?
Its value floated with the price of gold. Wikipedia records it at about 21 shillings and sixpence at the start of George I's reign; a royal proclamation of December 1717, following Isaac Newton's report as Master of the Mint, fixed it at 21 shillings.
How do I identify the 1715 1 Guinea - George I?
Check the weight 8.4g and diameter 25mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
George I became king in 1714, and his guineas were struck in every year of the reign. They are known for using five different portraits of the king, and the first, the 1714 "Prince Elector" guinea, lasted only that year. The second portrait followed in 1715 and was itself replaced within the year, so all second-portrait guineas are dated 1715.
The guinea was still a coin of floating value. Wikipedia records it at around 21 shillings and sixpence at the start of the reign, until Isaac Newton's report as Master of the Mint of 21 September 1717 led to a proclamation that December fixing it at 21 shillings. No mintage is recorded for any George I guinea by date or portrait. Sovereign Rarities notes that 1715 saw the highest gold output of the reign by value, which may explain why two heads were in use that year.
The obverse shows a laureate head of the king facing right, engraved by John Croker, the German-born Chief Engraver who cut almost all the dies of George I's reign. Spink describes the second head with a curl of hair falling below the truncation. The legend reads GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D: George, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith.
The reverse keeps the cross of four crowned shields from Anne's reign, now bearing England and Scotland, France, Ireland and the new arms of Hanover, with sceptres in the angles and the Star of the Garter at the centre. The legend BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL gives the king's German titles: Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The edge is grained obliquely.
Collecting notes
The first check is the portrait. Two heads were used in 1715, and catalogues separate them: Spink 3629 for the second head and Spink 3630 for the third. Spink's published lots describe the second head with hair curling below the truncation, so compare that area with a confirmed example; worn coins lose the detail first.
Filing gold from guineas was a known fraud, serious enough that the Mint changed the edge graining in 1739, so check the oblique graining all round the edge and the weight, which should be close to 8.4 g. The guinea was withdrawn in favour of the sovereign after the Coinage Act of 1816 and has no face value today.
The later head of the same year is the third portrait guinea.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Guinea (coin), Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George II, Royal Mint Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- John Croker (engraver), Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Catalogue of the Coins, Tokens, Medals, Dies and Seals in the Museum of the Royal Mint, Vol. I Part I (Hocking, 1906), George I pages, Royal Mint Museum library (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Guinea, 1715, second laureate head right (lot 230), Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George I 1715 guinea 2nd bust, one year only issue, Sovereign Rarities (read 12 Oct 2026)
- The Story of The Guinea, The Royal Mint (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Isaac Newton, Royal Mint Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1715 guinea, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
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