AU 53 | ENGLAND. William III, 1694-1702.
Gold 5 Guineas, 1699. London. Elephant & Castle.
The rarest five guinea piece of William III. Described as 'very rare' in both Milled Coinage of England (1950) and by Maurice Bull (2022), this coin is in fact extremely rare. with fewer than fifty examples extant. The Samuel King Survey of 2005 found that just 29 examples of this issue had sold over a 45-year period making this amongst the rarest of the entire five guinea series. Of the small number sold in the past five years are two examples in GVF condition which have sold at auction in excess of £55,000. An example described as EF sold for £186,000 at auction in 2018.
First laureate bust of William III facing right, elephant below; GVLIELMUS · III · DEI · GRA ·. / Crowned cruciform shields, Lion of Nassau in centre, sceptres in angles, divided date above, abbreviated Latin legend around reads MAG · BR · FRA · ET · HIB · REX ·. UNDECIMO on edge.
Attractive. Light wear and handling marks as indicated by grade. Elephant hallmark is strong and clear. Reverse better and very lustrous.

In secure plastic holder, graded NGC AU 53 , certification number 6614533-001.

NGC Census in this grade: 1.
NGC Census in higher grade: 7
Total NGC Census: 9
Reference: Fr.311; Bull.395 [R2]; ESC.170 [VR]; GH.59 [R]; KM.505.2; S.3455
Diameter: 37 mm.
Weight: 41.6 g. (AGW=1.2266 oz.)
Composition: 917/1000 Gold.

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