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

No five- or two-guinea pieces were issued for general circulation during this reign, but there were large numbers of guineas, the unit piece. The reign saw a profusion of pattern and proof pieces being struck, mostly because a further coinage reform was imminent, as was the removal of the Royal Mint from the Tower of London, where there had been a mint for over 600 years. Richard Yeo was appointed assistant engraver at the Royal Mint in 1749, chief engraver in 1775, and died in 1779. He was responsible for a large number of pattern pieces and for some of the currency coins of the period. This coin, one of the earliest patterns of the reign, bears a portrait on the obverse similar to that of George II rather than George III.