Cleveland Museum of Art

Half Guinea: Anne (obverse); Shields and Rose (reverse)

Date

1703

Medium

gold

Culture

England, Anne, 1702-1714

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The coinage of Anne's reign remained fairly constant after the inaugural design in 1662. Before the Act of Union with Scotland (1706), the arms of England and Scotland remained separate, as shown. After the act the two arms were conjoined on one shield. The word Vigo indicates the coins were struck from gold captured from the Spanish at the Battle of Vigo Bay (1702). Although silver coins bearing the Vigo inscription are less rare, the three gold denominations bearing the symbol are all extremely rare. The Battle of Vigo Bay occurred on October 23, 1702. After the battle the treasure, largely of silver with a tiny amount of gold, was transported back to England and coins were made bearing the inscription Vigo .

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