1 Guinea - George I 3rd portrait (1715–1716)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1715–1716 |
| 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 |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Obv. artist | John Croker |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Third 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
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 1715 1 Guinea - George I
The 1715 1 Guinea - George I is a circulating 1 guinea coin issued from 1715 to 1716, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 8.4g. 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?
No verified sale of the 1715 1 Guinea - George I has been logged on MyCoinage yet. Its gold content is worth about £744 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
Which years have the third portrait guinea of George I?
1715 and 1716. In 1715 it was used alongside the second portrait, which it replaced, and in 1716 alongside the fourth portrait, which replaced it in turn. The English Gold Coinage catalogue numbers the 1716 third head as EGC 505.
How many third portrait guineas were struck?
No count exists. Guinea output under George I is not recorded by date or by portrait. The only published figure for 1715 is the value of all gold coined that year, which Sovereign Rarities gives as the highest of the reign.
How do I tell the third portrait from the fourth on a 1716 guinea?
Use a catalogue illustration and compare the hair and truncation. Spink notes that the latest English Gold Coinage catalogue merged the 1716 third head (EGC 505) with the fourth (EGC 506), so even specialist references have confused them. Ask for the attribution to be stated.
Is a George I guinea legal tender?
No. The Royal Mint records that the guinea stayed in circulation until 1814 and was replaced by the gold sovereign after the Coinage Act of 1816. A George I guinea today is a historic gold coin with no face value.
How do I identify the 1715 1 Guinea - George I?
Check the weight 8.4g and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
George I's guineas carry five portraits of the king over a reign of 13 years, a sign of how often the Mint's engraver reworked the head. The third portrait came into use in 1715, the same year as the second, and was still in use in 1716 when the fourth portrait arrived. Spink's cataloguers note that the most recent English Gold Coinage catalogue merged the 1716 third head (EGC 505) with the fourth (EGC 506), and propose a separate number for it.
No mintage figure is published for any George I guinea by date or portrait. The guinea itself was still a coin of floating value when this head was cut. It was only after Isaac Newton's report as Master of the Mint in September 1717 that a December proclamation fixed it at 21 shillings, the rate it kept until the last guineas of 1813.
John Croker, born in Dresden and Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint from 1705, cut almost all of George I's coin dies, and the Royal Mint Museum credits him with the coins of Anne and George I. The obverse shows his laureate head of the king facing right with the legend GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith.
The reverse is the cruciform design inherited from Anne: four crowned shields with sceptres between and the Star of the Garter at the centre. Under George I the shields bear England and Scotland, France, Ireland, and Hanover, and the legend BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL names him Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The date sits at the top, divided by the crown, and the edge is grained obliquely.
Collecting notes
Attribution is the main issue. A 1715 guinea may carry the second or third head and a 1716 guinea the third or fourth, and catalogue numbers have not always been applied consistently: one dealer records a slab with the wrong Spink number for a third-head coin. Compare the portrait with an illustrated reference rather than relying on the holder.
Check the oblique edge graining for filing and the weight, which should be close to 8.4 g. Some George I guineas survive after being mounted as jewellery, so look for repairs to the rim and edge.
The head this one replaced is the second portrait guinea, and its successor is the fourth 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, 1716, fourth laureate bust right (lot 1608, with note on the third bust), Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George I 1715 guinea AU55, 3rd head, Sovereign Rarities (read 12 Oct 2026)
- The Story of The Guinea, The Royal Mint (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1715 guinea, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
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