<P> The guinea was a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814 . The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa , where much of the gold used to make the coins originated . It was the first English machine - struck gold coin , originally worth one pound sterling , equal to twenty shillings , but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase , at times to as high as thirty shillings . From 1717 to 1816 , its value was officially fixed at twenty - one shillings . </P>
<P> The guinea was a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814 . The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa , where much of the gold used to make the coins originated . It was the first English machine - struck gold coin , originally worth one pound sterling , equal to twenty shillings , but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase , at times to as high as thirty shillings . From 1717 to 1816 , its value was officially fixed at twenty - one shillings . </P>
when did the guinea go out of circulation
when did the guinea go out of circulation
1814
1814