Anne, 1702-1714

Five Guineas, 1703. VIGO below first draped bust left, Latin legend with pellet stops surrounding, ANNA. DEI. GRATIA. translates as “Anne by the Grace of God” toothed border surrounding / Crowned cruciform Pre-Union emblematic shields, emblematic sceptres in angles, rose at centre, date either side of top crown, abbreviated Latin legend, .MAG. BR. FRA. ET. HIB REG. translates as “Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland” toothed border surrounding, edge inscribed in raised letters DECVS ET TVTAMEN ANNO REGNI SECVNDO, translates as “An ornament and a safeguard, in the second year of the reign”. 41,76g. Bull 444 (this coin illustrated); GH 63; S. 3561.

NGC UNC DETAILS OBV TOOLED. (2113951-050) Nearly extremely fine, very rare and one of the most desirable coins in the entire milled series.

Provenance:
Seaby coin Bulletin (February 1972).
“Vigo Bay” Sale, Glendining Auction (2 October 1992), 17.
Dolphin Coins –Sovereign list 10 (Winter 1996), 107.
Aureo Calico Auction (1 March 2000), 664.
Spink Auction 7010 (29 March 2007), 428 (Hammer price : 82’000 GBP).

GH : 5 Specimens known.
VIGO below the bust signifies this gold was minted from gold bullion captured from the Spanish after the Battle of Vigo Bay. Despite the fact that only an estimated 20 specimens were struck of this great rarity, three different varieties were created. Each variety has different positioning of the work VIGO and the portrait of the Queen Anne is positioned differently. According to Greg Holloway, the Mint was experimenting with different designs to see which might be acceptable to the Queen. These coins could be considered patterns as they predated the roll out of the rest of the Anne 5 Guineas series. There are five known 1703 of the type 1 variety, with VIGO as far left as possible under the bust.