England, William III, 1699 Gold Five Guineas, Elephant and Castle Extremely Rare NGC About Uncirculated 53

The Coin

This is an extremely rare and sought after five guinea piece of William III, seldom seen in a respectable grade such as this. The high intrinsic value of gold coins, especially high denominations such as a five guinea piece, leaves them extremely susceptible to being melted down or repurposed throughout their journey to us. The relatively few examples we have left are fought over by collectors and investors alike.

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 the rarest five guinea piece of William III.

Clearly, this is a unique opportunity to acquire a serious rarity of British coinage.

The Elephant and Castle Hallmark

The elephant and castle hallmark gives a historic depth and connection to this coin that is quite exceptional. A hallmark denotes that the metal content of a coin is from a particularly notable source such as war plunder or newly discovered mines. It is a device scarcely utilised in British coinage and evokes thoughts of modern commemorative issues, except in these instances the coins themselves are struck of the very history they wish to commemorate. Similar issues are coins of 1703 wearing a VIGO hallmark denoting they were struck with captured Spanish bullion, and the ‘CAL.’ quarter eagles of 1848 proudly struck with California gold. The symbol seen below the truncation of this coin however - an elephant supporting a castle upon its back – denotes that its gold content was exploited by the Royal African Company from the newly-discovered gold fields of West Africa. By the time this coin was struck, however, the mining operation was secondary to a far more profitable monopoly that the company held on slave trading along the coast of Western Africa. This coin was struck at the beginnings of centuries of devastation and exploitation to be left in the wake of Western progress. A difference between this coin and most others though is that it does not hide the exploitation it has been birthed from and authentically wears what it is for all to see. To throw a sheet over the prevalent evils of human history would be to repeat these mistakes again and ignore the progress still to be made.

John Croker (1670-1741)

Johann Croker, who later anglicised his name to John, was born in Dresden, Saxony in 1690. As a child, Croker lost his father, an accomplished cabinet maker, and was then taken under the wing of his goldsmith and jeweller godfather. The budding artist flourished under this apprenticeship and upon its completion made his way to England, via the Netherlands, where he worked as a jeweller and medallist until becoming an assistant to Henry Harris, Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint, in 1697 – not long after a not-yet-knighted Isaac Newton joined the mint as Warden. In 1705, the same year Mr Newton became Sir Isaac, Croker was appointed as Chief Engraver.

Croker, working closely with Newton, engraved nearly all dies of Queen Anne, King George I, and many of George II. Few engravers have left as great an impact on British coinage as John Croker. In 1729, a 24-year-old John Sigmund Tanner (1705-75) was appointed his assistant. With Croker’s death in 1741, Tanner carried on the torch of Chief Engraver.