BRITISH, Orange. Anne, 1702-1714. Two Guineas 1711 (Gold, 32 mm, 16.65 g, 6 h), Post-Union type. Tower (London) mint. ANNA DEI• - GRATIA• Diademed and draped bust of Anne to left. Rev. MAG - BRI•FR - ET•HIB - REG•17-11• Crowned cruciform shields, scepters in angles, garter star central. Bull 455. Friedberg 319. KM 531. Schneider 532. SCBC 3569. Stratos 159. A rare, well struck and lustrous specimen. In NGC encapsulation, graded AU 58. Minor marks, otherwise, extremely fine.



The reign of Queen Anne - last sovereign of the House of Stuart and mother of seventeen children - proved profoundly formative for the development of both England and Great Britain. It was during her rule that the Act of Union was passed in 1707, uniting the kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single realm. Anne thus became the first monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The impressive Two Guinea piece offered here, then the second-highest denomination, was struck in the wake of this historic union. Its reverse reflects the new political reality, prominently displaying the English and Scottish lions joined together within a single heraldic composition.