Lot 361
Great Britain. Prince Elector Guinea, 1714. S-3628; Fr-538; KM-538. George I, 1714-1727, as Prince Elector. First Laureate Head. Laureate head right. Reverse: Crowned cruciform arms, with alternating scepters at angles, Garter star at center. The distinctive and very rare, 1-year type. A superb example, glowing with luster, having virtually no abrasions and one of the boldest strikes known on this elusive date. Clearly one of the finest known. NGC graded MS-64.
This is the only such English gold coin actually noting in full the king's German origins, for George was, first and foremost, Prince Elector of Hanover, for the Holy Roman Empire, and in fact more German than British (he rarely visited England and knew little English). The end of the reverse legend denotes this, with the distinctive "PR EL" among the king's titles. Evidently the use of the extra "PR" was determined as crowding the legend, and it was not used on his other coinages. This particular specimen is known by the cataloguer to have been sold by Spink more than 20 years ago for higher than our top estimate, it was so special.
Estimated Value $13,000 - 14,000.
Ex Bridgewater House Collection (lot 176). Ex Dr Jacob Y. Terner Collection. The finest possible provenance.
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| Realized $22,425 |
