Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3066 17 Aug 2018
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Great Britain
George II gold 'East India Company' 5 Guineas 1729 AU53 NGC, KM571.2, S-3664. A coin which captures both the viewer's eye with its beauty, and imagination with its history. Arguably the most popular British gold denomination and certainly a current vogue, seemingly conservatively graded; the planchet was adjustment marked prior to striking, but when viewed in-hand these marks do little to detract from the pronounced strike, minimal wear and overall eye-appeal of this large gold offering. Most significant about this 5 Guinea piece, however, is surely the 'E.I.C.' boldly impressed beneath George II's laureate portrait representing the 'East India Company', a name unmatched in conjuring up associations with British Colonialism.
This notorious company was formerly known as the 'Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies' and was chartered under Queen Elizabeth I in 1600; indeed, we are delighted to be able to offer a '4 Testern' piece produced for the inaugural voyage of this company within this same sale, a further numismatic underpin. The East India Company eventually rose to account for half of the entire world's trade, bolstering the financial and territorial roots of the British Empire, and were an integral part of the events leading up to the American Revolution: their exemption from the tea import duties imposed on their colonial counterparts triggered the Boston Tea Party of 1773. In fact, the prominence of the EIC during this turbulent time has led some to theorize that the Stars and Stripes were based on the East India Flag, as the two bear remarkable similarities.
It was this famed colonial institution which sourced the specie for this present coin from one of their many dominions, and one cannot hold it and not imagine from whence this metal was taken, its long voyage across the seas and its life in the fledgling era of the British Empire. Deep aged-gold in color with lustrous flashes peeking through the legends, every detail from George's bust to the EIC hallmark razor-sharp and fringed with a subtle yet attractive red patina. An outstanding piece of British history preserved in gold, and a coin which thoroughly deserves its place amongst other premium 5 Guinea pieces in an elite collection.
From the Collection of A Scottish Gentleman
HID02901242017
Estimate: 20000-30000 USD
George II gold 'East India Company' 5 Guineas 1729 AU53 NGC, KM571.2, S-3664. A coin which captures both the viewer's eye with its beauty, and imagination with its history. Arguably the most popular British gold denomination and certainly a current vogue, seemingly conservatively graded; the planchet was adjustment marked prior to striking, but when viewed in-hand these marks do little to detract from the pronounced strike, minimal wear and overall eye-appeal of this large gold offering. Most significant about this 5 Guinea piece, however, is surely the 'E.I.C.' boldly impressed beneath George II's laureate portrait representing the 'East India Company', a name unmatched in conjuring up associations with British Colonialism.
This notorious company was formerly known as the 'Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies' and was chartered under Queen Elizabeth I in 1600; indeed, we are delighted to be able to offer a '4 Testern' piece produced for the inaugural voyage of this company within this same sale, a further numismatic underpin. The East India Company eventually rose to account for half of the entire world's trade, bolstering the financial and territorial roots of the British Empire, and were an integral part of the events leading up to the American Revolution: their exemption from the tea import duties imposed on their colonial counterparts triggered the Boston Tea Party of 1773. In fact, the prominence of the EIC during this turbulent time has led some to theorize that the Stars and Stripes were based on the East India Flag, as the two bear remarkable similarities.
It was this famed colonial institution which sourced the specie for this present coin from one of their many dominions, and one cannot hold it and not imagine from whence this metal was taken, its long voyage across the seas and its life in the fledgling era of the British Empire. Deep aged-gold in color with lustrous flashes peeking through the legends, every detail from George's bust to the EIC hallmark razor-sharp and fringed with a subtle yet attractive red patina. An outstanding piece of British history preserved in gold, and a coin which thoroughly deserves its place amongst other premium 5 Guinea pieces in an elite collection.
From the Collection of A Scottish Gentleman
HID02901242017
Estimate: 20000-30000 USD