The Guinea is an interesting, antiquated, relic of the British Empire. Although this denomination is for the most part unused this day in age, it is an interesting one. While it's value fluctuated over the years, it tended to be worth 1.05 pounds. Another piece of trivia is that this is the first denomination coin to be machine made. It also had a reeded edge but unlike reeded edges of most coins, the reeds are at an oblique angle and not perpendicular to the surface of the coin.
Shown below is an earlier Guinea from 1683. The date however is so worn out that only portions of the 16 and the lower half of the 8 are visible. Nevertheless, using a little ingenuity, it was determined that this coin dates to 1683.
Explained below is how I determined that this coin is indeed from 1683. I had to photograph the coin under magnification and with an LED flashlight aimed at it from 12 O'Clock. This is the reason that the edge of that part of the coin has a lighter halo than the other areas of the coin's edge. By shining a light from one direction, as opposed to even illumination as shown in the image above, it generated a little extra contrast on the surface of the coin.
In determining what the completely worn out number is, I looked at the slightest hint of contrast I could find to determine minute relic of the elevation from where the number once was. One could then see the lower curvature of the 3 and comparing the shape of a 3 to that of a 0, 1, 2, or 4 it is determined that the most logical year for this coin is indeed 1683 and not the other 4 years of which this variety was minted. One thing to note however, is that the 3 on the coin is a different font than what is shown in the above image. The top curved part of the 3 on the actually coin is not symmetrical to the lower part but a little more funky. Nevertheless, it clearly shows where the center of the 3 is and therefore cannot be a zero. Also the lower curvature reveals that this coin is not from 1682 either. Since it is clearly curved at the bottom, it cannot be a 1681 or 1684 guinea either.
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