A rare Five Guineas coin minted from gold supplied to the Royal Mint by the East India Companyin 1729 will be among the highlights of the auctions of Ancient, British and World Coins to be heldby Dix Noonan Webb in London on 4-5 December 2014. The coin, which bears the head of George II, isexpected to fetch £8,000 to £12,000. The source of the gold is shown by the letters 'E.I.C.' on theobverse of the coin underneath the king's head.

Guineas took their place in British numismatic history in 1662 when the recently restoredCharles II decreed that the Mint would abandon hand-hammered coinage in favour of money produced inscrew presses that could produce symmetrical coins with milled edges to deter clipping. Gold forthis came to England in ships of the Africa Company from Guinea in West Africa and the new coinssoon became known as guineas.

The Africa Company's badge of an elephant and howdah, more commonly called an elephant andcastle, was depicted on the coins under the king's bust. The practice of acknowledging the sourceof the gold continued into the 18th century with some guineas carrying the word LIMA to markBritish successes in capturing Spanish treasure ships that had sailed from the city of Lima inPeru.

The East India Company, which had originally received its Royal Charter from Elizabeth I in1600, also became gold suppliers to the Royal Mint. Quite where the ruthless entrepreneurs whoexpanded the Company to become effective rulers of the Indian sub-continent, sourced their gold isunclear although it may have come from Japan. What is known from Treasury records is that on 4November 1729 the Company wrote to the Lords of the Treasury requesting the preparation of dieswith the capital letters 'E.I.C' under the King's head to distinguish the coins minted from itsgold "as hath been granted to the Royal African, the South Sea Company and others." The East IndiaCompany got what it wanted.

The coin to be auctioned at Dix Noonan Webb is rare. The letters 'E.I.C.' were only stamped ongold coins in 1729, two years after George II came to the throne, and five guineas are themselvesrare because they represented an enormous amount of money.

For more information, see:
www.dnw.co.uk