1813 George III 'Military' Guinea

Item Description

1813 George III gold 'Military' Guinea (S 3730, Bull EGC 737). Obverse: sixth laureate head, by Lewis Pingo, facing right with 'GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA' around. Reverse: shield of royal arms surrounded by a crowned garter with the date below (1813) and a legend around which reads 'BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR'. Weight: 8.42g. Diameter: 24.4mm. Grade: gVF - good Very Fine with some pleasing toning, particularly around the legends, plenty of eye appeal and some traces of mint lustre.

Why is the 1813 Guinea known as the 'Military' Guinea?

The high-grade example that exceeded estimates in our 25 September numismatic sale provides an interesting opportunity to explore the story of the final gold Guinea.

The Decline Of The Guinea

Introduced in 1663, Guineas were the first English machine-made gold coins. Their name came from the West African region where most of the gold used to mint early issues originated. Initially worth One Pound or 20 Shillings, their value fluctuated with the gold price before being set at 21 Shillings in 1717: the year Britain adopted the gold standard.

Guineas continued to be struck annually through the Georgian period, including most of the long reign of George III, who became king in 1760.

By the end of the eighteenth century, however, gold was becoming increasingly scarce. The uncertainty caused by the French Revolution and subsequent French Revolutionary Wars prompted hoarding and runs on northern banks, depleting bullion reserves. Out of necessity, the Bank of England restricted the practice of swapping banknotes for gold in 1797. As Brits got used to using notes in place of smaller denominations, production of the full Guinea was halted. Half Guineas and Third Guineas would be the only British gold coins issued for more than a decade.

Funding The Peninsular War

While banknotes plugged the bullion shortage in Britain, gold still spoke on the continent where Britain had become engaged in a series of conflicts, later known as the Napoleonic Wars. 

In response to the threat of invasion, the United Kingdom began providing financial support to a fluctuating coalition of European allies struggling against Napoleon Bonaparte's forces. Naval might - demonstrated at Trafalgar - protected British shores, so Bonaparte turned increasingly to economic warfare, instituting an embargo against British trade in 1806.

In defiance of the Continental Blockade, Portugal continued to trade with Britain. In retaliation, Bonaparte invaded through Spain in 1807, later occupying Madrid where he installed his brother as King. In 1808, responding to a call for aid, 14,000 troops landed in Portugal under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley (later and better known as the Duke of Wellington), kicking off British involvement in an eye-wateringly expensive and logistically complex land conflict.

Britain's growing industrial complex backed the war effort, funneling materiel to the Anglo-Portuguese armies. Naval support meant that supplies could be shipped in from as far away as the Americas.

There were some goods, however, that needed to be bought locally. And, of course, soldiers still needed to be paid, ideally in a form that they could use where they were stationed.

Making 'Military' Guinea

The 1813 Guinea is often referred to as the 'Military' Guinea as these gold coins were struck partially to pay Wellesley's army in the Pyrenees. These coins were not intended for circulation in England.

Their production was overseen by Wellesley's elder brother, William Wellesley-Pole, who was appointed Master of the Royal Mint in June 1812.

Under Wellesley-Pole, the Mint struck some £519,722 worth of Guineas, Half Guineas and Third Guineas between February and June 1813, producing about 361,473 'full' gold Guineas on new steam-powered presses. These machines were developed by Matthew Boulton at his Soho Mint, near Birmingham, and installed at the Royal Mint's new Tower Hill premises. The 1813 Guinea would be the first (and last) circulating Guinea struck at Tower Hill.

Acquiring the gold to coin the 1813 Guinea proved a poor deal for the British government during a time when gold was scarce. The precious metal to mint the coins had to be imported from India in the form of gold Mohurs and Pagodas.

These coins were only part of a broader effort to fund the final months of the Peninsular War. Their production coincided with Wellington's establishment of a secret mint at Saint-Jean-de-Luz to strike forged French Five Franc pieces from Spanish and Portuguese Dollars. The following year, the British government tasked Nathan Rothschild with financing the final portion of the invasion of France, leading to the abdication of Napoleon in April 1814.

Design Of The 1813 Guinea

The dies for the 1813 Guinea are generally attributed to the engraver Lewis Pingo (1743-1830).

The modeler is consistently named as Nathaniel Marchant (1739-1816). Better known as a gem engraver, Marchant had previously designed a portrait of George III that had appeared on Third Guineas and silver Bank of England tokens. It's Marchant's deeply unflattering, short-haired, sixth laureate bust of George III that appears on the obverse of the Military Guinea, accompanied by the legend 'GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA'.

This is paired with a unique reverse design, composed of a crowned square-topped shield of royal arms encircled by a garter, the tail of which divides the date. It's a fairly simple motif but positively decorative when compared to the 'spade' Guineas of previous decades. The legend reads 'BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR' ('King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith').

Further Reading On The Military Guinea

Bull, Maurice. English Gold Coinage 1649-1816 Volume I. Spink, 2020.

Challis, Christopher E. A New History Of The Royal Mint. Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Farey, Roderick A. A Guide To The Guinea 1663 To 1813. Token Publishing, 2020.