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1 Guinea - George I 5th portrait (1723–1727)
Circulating version: 1723 Ireland 1 Farthing - George I "DEI GRATIA"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1723–1727 |
| 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 ↑↓ |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fifth 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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Affiliate1 Guinea - George I price history
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BU | £1,500.00 🔒 | £1,100.00 (2) | – | £650.00 – £2,000.00 | 1 | 7 | 07-12-2025 | |
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| VF | £1,400.00 🔒 | £1,400.00 (1) | – | £1,400.00 – £1,400.00 | 0 | 1 | 01-12-2013 | |
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| F | £800.00 🔒 | £800.00 | – | £700.00 – £1,200.00 | 0 | 3 | 05-09-2021 | |
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About the 1723 1 Guinea - George I
The 1723 1 Guinea - George I is a circulating 1 guinea coin issued from 1723 to 1727, 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 1723 1 Guinea - George I worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1723 1 Guinea - George I run from £800 to £1,400 across 3 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 rare is the George I fifth portrait guinea?
No mintage is recorded for any date. CoinVarieties notes that while no George I guinea is common, this is a scarcer type. For 1723, Spink traced only six fifth-head examples at major auctions in two decades, against 13 of the fourth head.
How can I tell the fifth portrait from the fourth?
The fifth is a smaller, older-looking head. Hocking's 1906 catalogue of the Royal Mint collection describes the 1726 guinea as having a small head without hair across the shoulder, where the fourth head's long hair lies across the truncation.
What is the 1726 elephant and castle guinea?
A fifth-portrait guinea with an elephant and castle below the king's head, the badge of the Royal African Company, showing the gold came through the company. The Royal Mint Museum holds one. CoinVarieties notes the mark was used with this head in 1726 only.
Who designed the George I guinea?
The Royal Mint credits John Croker with the obverse and Johann Ochs with the reverse. Croker was Chief Engraver from 1705 to 1741 and, according to the Royal Mint Museum, designed the coins of Anne and George I and the young head of George II.
How is the 1723 1 Guinea - George I different from the circulating coin?
This is a collector version of the 1723 Ireland 1 Farthing - George I "DEI GRATIA", not the coin found in change. At 8.4g of 91.67% gold it is heavier than the 6.2g copper circulating coin, so weighing it is the quickest check.
How do I identify the 1723 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
The fifth portrait was the last of the five heads used on George I's guineas. It arrived in 1723, a year struck with both this smaller, older-looking head and the large fourth head, and remained in use until the end of the reign in 1727. Spink's cataloguers traced 13 fourth-head and only six fifth-head 1723 guineas at major auctions over two decades.
By this time the guinea had a fixed value of 21 shillings, set by proclamation in December 1717. No mintage is published for any date. In 1726 some guineas were struck from gold supplied by the Royal African Company and carry its elephant and castle badge below the bust; the Royal Mint Museum holds one of these, struck at the Tower mint.
The obverse is John Croker's last guinea portrait of George I, a laureate head facing right. Hocking's 1906 catalogue of the Royal Mint collection describes the 1726 coin as having a small head, without the hair across the shoulder seen on the fourth portrait. The legend is GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D. The Royal Mint names Croker as obverse designer and Johann Ochs as reverse designer.
The reverse is unchanged from the earlier portraits: four crowned shields in a cross for England and Scotland, France, Ireland and Hanover, sceptres between them and the Star of the Garter at the centre. The legend BRVN ET L DVX S R I A TH ET EL and the date surround it, and the edge is grained obliquely. George II's gold coins replaced the four shields and Garter star with a single crowned shield.
Varieties and errors
The 1726 elephant and castle guinea is the only variety of this portrait with a provenance mark. CoinVarieties notes the mark was used with this head in 1726 only. The other point to check is the 1723 date, which must be attributed by head.
Collecting notes
Confirm the portrait on any 1723 coin, since the fourth head is the commoner of the pair. For an elephant and castle piece, the mark should sit cleanly under the truncation; compare it with an illustrated example. Check the oblique graining for filing and the weight against the Royal Mint Museum's 8.39 g example. The guinea was replaced by the sovereign after the Coinage Act of 1816.
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)
- 1726 George I Gold Guinea - Fifth Bust, The Royal Mint (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, 1723, fifth laureate head right (lot 96), Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George I guinea, 1726, elephant and castle (RMM 292), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1724 guinea, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
- The Story of The Guinea, The Royal Mint (read 12 Oct 2026)
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