The seven shilling piece was introduced in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

by a proclamation of 29 November 1797. It has been called a third guinea, a guinea being worth 21 shillings in sterling specie. The

gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buf ...

was minted only in the reign of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

Background

When it was introduced in 1797, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

ary wars, the financial situation at the Bank of England was precarious: gold was in short supply and banknotes were given

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...

status in any amount. In order to pay the Bank's

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-i ...

s it was decided to produce what at the time was known as ''seven-shilling pieces'', with odd amounts of the dividend being paid in silver coins.

Details

A total of £315,000 worth of coins was authorised in October 1797. The denomination was struck each year until 1813, with the exception of 1805, 1807, and 1812. Between 1800 and 1812 third and half guineas were the only gold coins issued. The coin weighed 2.8 grams and was 17 millimetres in diameter with a milled edge. The design of the reverse changed in 1801 following the union of the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland, when simultaneously the king relinquished his claim to the French throne (some four hundred years after it had ceased to mean anything). There were two obverses used, with different portraits of the king (the new one being introduced in 1804), with the legend GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA. The design of the reverse was a crown, with the legend MAG BRI FR ET HIB REX date (to 1800) or FIDEI DEFENSOR BRITANNIARUM REX date (from 1801).

Notes

External links

British Coins forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Third Guinea (British Coin) British gold coins Coins of Great Britain Coins of the United Kingdom