Five Pounds (British Gold Coin)
The five guineas gold coin started out life as a five-pound coin before the fluctuating value of the guinea eventually settled at twenty-one shillings; therefore it is arguable that the five pounds piece issued after the Great Recoinage of 1816 is merely a continuation of the earlier value. However, the £5 coin tends to have a more modern 'feel' and so is normally considered separately.
The coin was normally issued in cased "proof" condition, and rarely circulated, as well as being issued in small quantities which today often result in extremely high values of many tens of thousands of pounds being achieved when a coin appears at auction. The normal weight of the denomination was 40 grams.
Read more about Five Pounds (British Gold Coin): George III Five-pound Coin, George IV Five-pound Coin, Victoria Five-pound Coins, Early 20th-century Five-pound Coins, Elizabeth II Five-pound Coin, Modern Five-pound Coin
Famous quotes containing the words pounds and/or gold:
“When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
“Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)
“How quickly nature falls into revolt
When gold becomes her object!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)