The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Five Guineas: George I (obverse); Shields and Star of the Order of the Garter (reverse)

1716

England, George I, 1714-1727

gold
Diameter: 3.7 cm (1 7/16 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1969.206
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In the center of the shields is the symbol of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348.

Description

The Act of the Union of 1706 by Queen Anne added the arms of Scotland to those of England. The shields now read as England & Scotland, France, Ireland, and Hanover. Around the shields the many titles of the king are abbreviated to sometimes only one letter:

BRVN ET·L·DVX S·I·R·A·TH ET·EL
Duke of Brunswick and Lueneburg, Arch Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire
  • -1969
    Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1969-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968. p. 63
  • Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
    English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Five Guineas: George I (obverse); Shields and Star of the Order of the Garter (reverse)|url=false|author=|year=1716|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.206