George II 1727-1760 AD

King George II's guinea pieces are a complex issue, with eight obverses and five reverses used through the 33 years of the reign. The coins were produced in all years of the reign except 1742, 1744, 1754, and 1757. The coins weighed 8.3-8.4 g, and were 25-26 mm in diameter except for some of the 1727 coins which were 24-25 mm. The average gold purity was 0.9140. Some coins issued between 1729 and 1739 carry the mark EIC under the king's head, to indicate the gold was provided by the East India Company, while some 1745 coins carry the mark LIMA to indicate the gold came from Admiral George Anson's round-the-world voyage. In the early part of the reign the edge of the coin was milled diagonally, but from 1739 following the activities of a particularly bold gang of guinea filers for whom a reward was posted, the milling was changed to produce the shape of a chevron or arrow-head. In 1732 the old hammered gold coinage was demonetised, and it is thought that some of the old coins were melted down to create more guineas.

The obverse has a left-facing bust of the king with the legend GEORGIVS II DEI GRATIA (GEORGIUS II DEI GRATIA between 1739 and 1743), while the reverse features a single large crowned shield with the quarters containing the arms of England+Scotland, France, Hanover, and Ireland, and the legend M B F ET H REX F D B ET L D S R I A T ET E ("King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Elector").

Unlike the two-guinea and five-guinea coins, production of the guinea continued through much of the long reign of King George III.