No doubt many have read Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel Treasure Island at some time or another. I read it and also saw the 1950 Walt Disney film with Robert Newton as the infamous pirate cook Long John Silver. The book mentioned Guineas as being part of the treasure, and in the film, a sailor is angry that all they have found is a Guinea. The book was set around 1765, with the treasure being buried in 1750. Well, I had to have a Guinea and now I do, thanks to one of our well-known coin brokers. Great Britain Gold Guinea 1750 Obverse: George II facing left GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (George II, by the Grace of God) Reverse: Crowned arms of Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Hannover 1750 M.B.F.ET.H.REX.F.D.B.ET.L.D.S.R.I.A.T.ET.E Which means: MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX FIDEI DEFENSOR Great Britain France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith BRVNSWICENSIS ET LVNEBVRGENSIS Brunswick and Lueneburg Duke DVX SACRI ROMANI IMPERII ARCHI THESAVRARIVS ET PRINCEPS ELECTOR Holy Roman Empire Arch-Treasurer and Prince-Elector Metal: Gold Size: 25mm Weight: 8.24gm The coin was graded by NGC "VF Details / Removed from jewelry", but I like to think that the marks on the coin are from it's being handled or even worn by a pirate. The coins were called "Guineas" as the gold came from the African country of Guinea. A Guinea was worth a British pound at the time, or about 4-1/2 Spanish dollars in the American colonies.
Nope, your 1750 Guinea was worth one pound plus one shilling, i.e., 21 shillings. In the 17th Century, guineas were worth a pound sterling. Wikipedia: "...from 1717 until 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings." For a short time, in the early 1800s, Britain minted 1/3 guinea gold coins (worth 7 shillings), and 1/2 guinea gold coins.
I think that the guinea is still used as a unit of account in the purchase of race horses---old traditions die hard
I probably should have written "worth about a British Pound", as the value of the coin was not constant, especially in the colonies. Pirates probably valued it in barrels or rum or ...
Even today the term Guinea is still used, there is the "1000 Guinea" horse race, from when the original prize was 1000 Guineas (£1050). When I was a kid it was widely used when advertising goods for sale in shop windows and newspapers even though the Guinea was not in circulation and 99.9% of folks had never seen one.
