1 Guinea - George III Pattern (1798)
Circulating version: 1798 1 Dollar - George III Pattern
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1798 |
| Denomination | 1 Guinea |
| Face value | £1.05 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | Yes |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 8.400g · 0.2476 t oz |
| Diameter | 24.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Obv. artist | Conrad Heinrich Küchler |
| Rev. artist | Conrad Heinrich Küchler |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Laureate portrait of King George III right, legend around on broad, raised rim.
Crowned and quartered, spade-shaped shield of arms, legend around on broad, raised rim, date below.
1 Guinea - George III Pattern market value
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Daily limit reached1 Guinea - George III Pattern 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDC | £1,500.00 🔒 | £750.00 | – | £600.00 – £1,500.00 | 0 | 3 | 06-09-2020 | |
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| BU | £2,000.00 🔒 | £2,000.00 (2) | – | £2,000.00 – £2,000.00 | 0 | 2 | 01-03-2015 | |
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| VF | £1,093.92 🔒 | £1,093.92 (1) | – | £831.62 – £1,093.92 | 0 | 2 | 14-04-2024 | |
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| MS-62 | £1,669.26 🔒 | £1,669.26 (1) | – | £1,669.26 – £1,669.26 | 0 | 1 | 05-10-2024 | |
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About the 1798 1 Guinea - George III Pattern
The 1798 1 Guinea - George III Pattern is a collector 1 guinea coin, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 8.4g and measures 24mm across. Reverse design: Crowned and quartered, spade-shaped shield of arms, legend around on broad, raised rim, date below.
It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1798 1 Guinea - George III Pattern worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1798 1 Guinea - George III Pattern run from £750 to £2,000 across 4 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.
Who made the 1798 pattern guinea?
Conrad Heinrich Küchler, the engraver at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint in Birmingham. The Royal Mint Museum records its example as a Soho product, and Clayton describes the gilt copper version as clearly Soho in style. It was never adopted for the official coinage.
How many 1798 gold pattern guineas exist?
No number struck is recorded. Clayton says about 10 gold examples are known, and Stack's Bowers, quoted by CoinVarieties, traced only four other gold examples at public auction over 25 years. Gilt copper strikes are much more often seen.
Is the 1798 pattern guinea the same as the 1798 spade guinea?
No. The 1798 spade guinea is the Royal Mint's currency coin by Lewis Pingo. The pattern was made at Boulton's private Soho Mint with Küchler's own portrait and shield, and was never issued as money.
How is the 1798 1 Guinea - George III Pattern different from the circulating coin?
This is a collector version of the 1798 1 Dollar - George III Pattern, not the coin found in change. It is struck in 91.67% gold rather than base.
How do I identify the 1798 1 Guinea - George III Pattern?
Check the weight 8.4g and diameter 24mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
By the late 1790s Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint near Birmingham was the most advanced coining works in Britain. The Royal Mint Museum notes that Boulton installed the first steam-driven coining presses in 1788 and produced a range of pattern coins before winning the contract for the 1797 cartwheel penny and twopence. This guinea, dated 1798, is one of those Soho patterns; the Royal Mint Museum records its own example as a Soho product.
It was never adopted. Gold coinage at the Royal Mint was about to stop altogether in 1799, and the guinea did not return until 1813. No number struck is recorded. Tony Clayton puts the gold strikes at about 10 known, and a Stack's Bowers cataloguer, quoted by CoinVarieties, found only four other gold examples at public auction in 25 years.
Both sides are attributed to Conrad Heinrich Küchler, the Soho Mint's engraver, by Clayton, CoinVarieties and the Ashmolean Museum. The obverse shows a laureate bust of George III facing right; the reverse shows a crowned shield of arms. Clayton describes the gilt copper strikes as clearly Soho in style, quite unlike Lewis Pingo's spade guinea of the same year.
The pattern was struck in several metals. CoinVarieties records the gold version at the standard 8.35 g and 24 mm. The Royal Mint Museum's example is gilt and weighs only 4.3 g, and the Ashmolean holds both a gilt copper piece of 4.23 g and a silver one of 5.19 g.
Varieties and errors
The pattern exists in gold, gilt copper and silver. These are the same design struck in different metals, not die varieties.
Collecting notes
Weigh any example. A gilt copper piece is about half the weight of gold, so the metal is easy to establish. Stack's Bowers notes that the gold examples it traced all show wear, so a worn gold piece is not unusual for this pattern.
The Royal Mint's currency guinea of the same date is the Lewis Pingo spade 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.
- George III pattern guinea, 1798 (RMM 946), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1798 guinea KM-Pn65, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Pictures of Guineas and Sovereigns of George III, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Modern coin HCR152420 (guinea, 1798, copper gilt), Heberden Coin Room, Ashmolean Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Modern coin HCR152419 (guinea, 1798, silver), Heberden Coin Room, Ashmolean Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III, Royal Mint Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III guinea, 1798 (RMM 945), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
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