The Saudi Arabia Gold Guinea coin is a representation of the achievement of the Kingdom in gold coins. It was first minted in 1950 by the Pakistan Official Mint and later in 1957 by the Saudi Royal Mint. Back then, the Gold Guinea coin was the gold standard for the emergent Middle Eastern market.
With its attractive and artistic design, the Gold Guinea coin is a globally popular over six decades after its last issuance. The face value of the 22-carat gold coins is 40 Saudi Riyals and the actual gold weight for the one Gold Guinea coin is 0.2354 at 0.916 fineness. The Saudi Arabia Gold one Guinea coins only came in one size that matched the gold coins of sovereign Britain. For the combined period of between 1950 and 1957, less than 2 million Saudi Arabia Gold Guinea pieces were produced.
The Saudi Arabia Gold Guinea coin is also colloquially referred to as the Pound. This is because it was minted on the replica basis of the British Sovereign Gold. This also explains why it has a pseudo-British name. In terms of specifications, the Saudi Arabia Gold Guinea coin is of equal weight and size as the British Sovereign Gold coin. It has a gross weight of 7.89 grams and a fine weight of 7.32 grams. The coin has a diameter of 22 millimeters and a thickness of 1.52 millimeters.
The obverse of the Saudi Arabia Gold Guinea bears the official nomenclature for all front sides of coins. The coin has an appealing calligraphic design with a beaded circle that surrounds the content in the middle. It also has palm trees towards the bottom and crossed swords, which are also the national symbols of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There are two Arabic inscriptions at the center (“1”) and at the top, which translates to, “One Guinea”. The reverse has Arabic inscriptions towards the top and bottom, which translate to, “King of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia” and “Saud bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud” (the-then monarch. The middle has a date tree and crossed swords. Trading in the Saudi Arabia Gold Guinea coin is sales tax and VAT exempt.
