The Guinea

The introduction of new screw presses to The Royal Mint during the reign of Charles II made it possible to create thicker coins featuring higher relief designs. Although this new coin wasn’t given a name when it was produced, it became known as the guinea because most of the gold used to produce it was sourced from the Guinea coast in Africa. This coin went on to dominate the circulating coinage for the next 150 years, and was joined by a five-guinea, two-guinea and half-guinea piece in this time.