Bidspirit auction | Georgian George III Gold Quarter

Georgian George III Gold Quarter Guinea Love Token - Dated 1762 A George III gold quarter guinea folded twice into an s-shape for use as a love token gift, laureate head of George III right, to the reverse crowned shields, with the date 17-62 either side of the crown. 2.04 grams, 16mm (1/2”). Very fine condition, bent twice and given as a token of love. Provenance Property of a Suffolk collector. Literature S. 3741 (Valued at £525 in very fine condition) Footnotes In the 18th and 19th centuries love tokens were handmade by suitors who gave them to their sweethearts. Poorer working class young men made their tokens from copper coins. The wealthy young man could use a silver or very rarely a gold coin. It was the custom for a gentleman to either piece and/or bend a coin and give it to his beloved as a token of his love and a sign of his intention to marry her. The coin was not to be spent, but instead, to be carried always by the woman as a demonstration of her fidelity, a constant reminder to her each time she opened her purse.