Collection record · Small worlds
Five Guineas: George II (obverse); Shield of Arms (reverse)
The collection record classifies this work as coins. It is dated 1746. Recorded culture or place: England, George II, 1727-1760.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Five Guineas: George II (obverse); Shield of Arms (reverse)
- Date
- 1746
- Culture / origin
- England, George II, 1727-1760
- Materials and technique
- gold
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 3.7 cm (1 7/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1969.208
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
A new bust now appears on the coinage showing the king as an older man. The word LIMA that appears below the bust on this year only, refers to bullion captured by Admiral Anson from a Spanish plate fleet at Manila during his circumnavigation of the globe (1739–43). It also probably includes bullion supplied by a number of privateers operating against the Spanish plate fleets in the Atlantic. Why the actual word "Lima" was chosen to mark this supply of bullion has never been satisfactorily explained. The mint record book of the period simply records a warrant being issued for the inclusion of the word.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · The Norweb Collection · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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