Analysis of guineas
Rhymes
There are 32 rhymes on guineas (-neas).
Wikipedia
The guinea coin of 1663 was the first British machine-struck gold coin. The coin was originally worth one pound, which was twenty shillings; but rises in the price of gold caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times as high as thirty shillings. The name, which was an unofficial name for the coin, came from Guinea in Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated.
Although the coin is no longer current, the term guinea survives in some circles, notably horse racing and in the sale of rams, to mean an amount of one pound and five pence in decimalised currency (equivalent to 21 shillings). The guinea is also currently a common engagement gift in India. "Guinea" (جنيه) is also the Egyptian Arabic name for the currency in Egypt – the Egyptian pound.
The first guinea was produced on 6 February 1663, and was made legal currency by a Proclamation of 27 March 1663. 44½ guineas would be made from one Troy pound of 11/12 finest gold, each weighing 129.4 grains. The denomination was originally worth one pound, or twenty shillings, but an increase in the price of gold during the reign of Charles II led to its being traded at a premium. In 1670 the weight of the coin was reduced from 8.4–8.5 g to 8.3–8.4 g, but the price of gold continued to increase, and by the 1680s the coin was worth 22 shillings. The diameter of the coin was 25 millimetres throughout Charles II's reign, and the average gold content (from an assay done in 1773) was 0.9100. "Guinea" was not an official name for the coin, but much of the gold used to produce the early coins came from Guinea in Africa. The Royal African Company's charter allowed them to put their symbol, an elephant or later an elephant and castle, beneath the king's effigy on the coins, and the term "guinea" originated from this practice. The coin was produced each year between 1663 and 1684, with the elephant appearing on some coins each year from 1663–1665 and 1668, and the elephant and castle on some coins from 1674 onwards.
The obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by John Roettier (1631–c. 1700). The obverse showed a fine right-facing bust of the king wearing a laurel wreath (amended several times during the reign), surrounded by the legend CAROLVS II DEI GRATIA ("Charles II by the grace of God"), while the reverse showed four crowned cruciform shields bearing the arms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, between which were four sceptres, and in the centre were four interlinked "C"s, surrounded by the inscription MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX date ("Of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King"). To avoid confusion with gilded silver coins the edge was milled to deter clipping or filing (and to distinguish it from the silver half-crown which had edge lettering). Until 1669 the milling was perpendicular to the edge, giving vertical grooves, while from 1670 the milling was diagonal to the edge.
John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of James II. In this reign, the coins weighed 8.5 g with a diameter of 25–26 mm, and were minted in all years between 1685 and 1688, with an average gold content of 0.9094. Coins of each year were issued both with and without the elephant and castle mark. The king's head faces left in this reign, and is surrounded by the inscription IACOBUS II DEI GRATIA ("James II by the grace of God"), while the obverse is the same as in Charles II's reign except for omitting the interlinked "C"s in the centre of the coin. The edge of the coins are milled diagonally.
With the removal of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his daughter Mary, and her husband Prince William of Orange ruled jointly by agreement as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the guinea piece in Roman style, with William's head uppermost, with the legend GVLIELMVS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA. In a departure from the previous reigns the reverse featured a totally new design of a large crowned shield which bore the arms of France in the first quarter, of Scotland in the second quarter, of Ireland in the third quarter, and of England in the fourth quarter, the whole ensemble having a small shield in the centre bearing the rampant lion of Nassau; the legend on the obverse read MAG BR FR ET HIB REX ET REGINA date. By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to nearly thirty shillings. The guineas of this reign weighed 8.5 grams, were 25–26 mm in diameter, and were the work of James and Norbert Roettier and were produced in all years between 1689 and 1694 both with and without the elephant and castle; in 1692 and 1693 the mark of the elephant alone was also used.
Alliterations
There are 10 alliterations on guineas (guin-).
The words used are from the Wiktionary project. The text in the Wikipedia box is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and licensed under the GNU Free Document License. Contact: TimJoh.com.