Cleveland Museum of Art

Two Guinea Piece: George III (obverse); Shield of Arms (reverse)

John Sigismund Tanner

Date: 1773
Medium: gold
Culture: England, George III, 1760-1820
Department: Medieval Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

This very rare piece is another example of the fine patterns being produced at this period. With the coming reform of the coinage, the five- and two-guinea pieces do not appear again for general circulation. John Sigismund Tanner came to England in 1728, was appointed chief engraver in 1741 and died in 1775. He was responsible for a large number of pattern coins and for most of the second "old head" type of currency coins issued during the reign of George II. The year this coin was minted, colonists in Boston raided three British ships throwing several hundred chests of tea into the harbor.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.