Former coin of the United Kingdom and other territories
Half crown
United Kingdom
Value
£0.125 Two shillings and sixpence
Mass
1816–1970: 14.14 g
Diameter
1816–1970: 32.31 mm
Edge
Milled
Composition
1816–1919: 92.5% Ag
1920–1946: 50% Ag
1947–1970: Cupronickel
Years of minting
1707–1970
Obverse
Design
Profile of the monarch (Elizabeth II design shown)
Designer
Mary Gillick
Design date
1953
Reverse
Design
Various (crowned Royal Shield shown)
Designer
Edgar Fuller and Cecil Thomas
Design date
1967
The British half crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄8 pound, or two shillings and six pence (abbreviated "2/6", familiarly "two and six"), or 30 pre-decimal pence. The gold half crown was first issued in England in 1526, in the reign of King Henry VIII, with a value half that of the crown coin. The first silver half crown appeared in 1551, under King Edward VI and was dated. No half crowns were issued in the reign of Mary, but from the reign of Elizabeth I half crowns were issued in every reign except that of Edward VIII, until the coins were discontinued in 1970.
During the English Interregnum of 1649–1660, a republican half crown was issued, bearing the arms of the Commonwealth of England, despite monarchist associations of the coin's name. When Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of England, half crowns were issued bearing his portrait depicting him wearing a laurel wreath in the manner of a Roman Emperor. The half crown did not display its value on the reverse until 1893. In the 20th century a slang term for the coin was "half-a-dollar".[1]
The half crown was demonetised (ahead of other pre-decimal coins) on 1 January 1970, the year before the United Kingdom adopted decimal currency on Decimal Day.
History of the half crown by reign
[edit]Gold half crown of Elizabeth I, 1580/81This Charles I half crown was struck from a piece of hammered silver plate during one of the Civil War sieges of Newark, Nottinghamshire.
King Henry VIII 1526: the first English half crown was struck in gold.
King Edward VI: issued gold half crowns, and in 1551 the first half crown in silver, which was dated and showed the king riding a horse.
Queen Mary I: the half crown was struck on Mary's marriage to Philip II of Spain in 1554 but was never issued for circulation. Three specimens exist.
Queen Elizabeth I: gold half crowns were issued again. At the end of the reign silver half crowns were issued.
King James I: gold half crowns were issued again. During the reign silver half crowns were issued.
King Charles I: silver half crowns were issued, including those struck as obsidional money, money of necessity during the Civil War period.
Commonwealth of England: Oliver Cromwell silver half crowns were issued. During the years 1656 and 1658 milled half crowns were issued of Oliver Cromwell.
King Charles II 1663–1685: silver half crowns were issued, and this period saw the end of the hammered issue of half crowns.
King James II 1685–1688: silver half crown.
King William III & Queen Mary II 1689–1694: silver half crown.
William III of England 1694–1702: silver half crown.
Queen Anne 1702–1714: silver half crown.
King George I 1714–1727: silver half crown.
King George II 1727–1760: silver half crown.
King George III 1760–1820: silver half crown.
King George IV 1820–1830: silver half crown.
King William IV 1830–1837: silver half crown.
Queen Victoria 1837–1901: silver half crown.
King Edward VII 1902–1910: silver half crown.
King George V 1910–1936: silver half crown, sterling silver (92½% silver) until 1919, then 50% silver.
King Edward VIII 1936: 50% silver half crown. Not issued for circulation.
King George VI 1937–1952: 50% silver half crowns were issued until 1946 when the metal was changed to cupro-nickel.
Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1967: the last half crown for general circulation was issued in 1967, and the coin was withdrawn in 1970, before decimalisation. Proof sets of £sd coins, including the half crown, were issued by the Royal Mint, bearing the date 1970.
Size and weight
[edit]
From 1816, in the reign of George III, half crown coins had a diameter of 32 mm and a weight of 14.14 grams (defined as 5⁄11 troy ounce[2]), dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until decimalisation in 1971.[3]
Mintages
[edit]
The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication Coin Yearbook.[4]
Half-crown mintages 1887–1970
Monarch
Obverse variant
Year
Mintages
General
Proof
Victoria
Jubilee
1887
1,438,046
1,084
1888
1,428,787
1889
4,811,954
1890
3,228,111
1891
2,284,632
1892
1,710,946
Old head
1893
1,792,600
1,312
1894
1,524,960
1895
1,772,662
1896
2,148,505
1897
1,678,643
1898
1,870,055
1899
2,865,872
1900
4,479,128
1901
1,516,570
Edward VII
1902
1,316,008
15,123
1903
274,840
1904
709,652
1905
166,008
1906
2,886,206
1907
3,693,930
1908
1,758,889
1909
3,051,592
1910
2,557,685
George V
1911
2,914,573
6,007
1912
4,700,789
1913
4,090,169
1914
18,333,003
1915
32,433,066
1916
29,530,020
1917
11,172,052
1918
29,079,592
1919
10,266,737
1920
17,982,077
1921
23,677,889
1922
16,396,724
1923
26,308,526
1924
5,866,294
1925
1,413,461
1926
4,473,516
1927
6,837,872
15,000
1928
18,762,727
1929
17,632,636
1930
809,051
1931
11,264,468
1932
4,793,643
1933
10,311,494
1934
2,422,399
1935
7,022,216
1936
7,039,423
George VI
1937
9,106,440
26,402
1938
6,426,478
1939
15,478,635
1940
17,948,439
1941
15,773,984
1942
31,220,090
1943
15,462,875
1944
15,255,165
1945
19,849,242
1946
22,724,873
1947
21,911,484
1948
71,164,703
1949
28,272,512
1950
28,335,500
17,513
1951
9,003,520
20,000
1952
1[5]
Elizabeth II
1953
4,333,214
40,000
1954
11,614,953
1955
23,628,726
1956
33,934,909
1957
34,200,563
1958
15,745,668
1959
9,028,844
1960
19,929,191
1961
25,887,897
1962
24,013,312
1963
17,625,200
1964
5,973,600
1965
9,778,440
1966
13,375,200
1967
33,058,400
1970
0
750,000
Gallery
[edit]
Edward VI half-crown, 1552
Gold half crown of James I
Charles I half-crown
Half crown coin of Oliver Cromwell, 1658
Half crown of Charles II, 1680
Half crown of James II, 1687
Half crown of 1691: William III and Mary II
Half crown of William III, 1696
Half crown of Queen Anne
Half crown of George I, 1723
Half crown of George II, 1746
Half crown of George III, 1816
Half crown of George IV, 1821
Half crown of William IV, 1836
Half-crown of Victoria, 1885
Half-crown of Victoria, 1888
The reverse of the 1905, Edward VII, half crown
George V half crown, 1930
George VI half crown, 1948
The obverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown
The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown
See also
[edit]
Money portal
Numismatics portal
United Kingdom portal
Half crown (Irish coin)
References
[edit]
^"Half-a-dollar", Collins Dictionary. Retrieved 5 October 2022
^Kindleberger, Charles P. (2005). A Financial History of Western Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-415-37867-3.
^Tony Clayton. "Coins of the UK – Thirty Pence". coins-of-the-uk.co.uk.
^"Coin, Banknote and Medal Collector's Magazines. Token Publishing Numismatic Interest". tokenpublishing.com.
^"Welcome to Colin Cooke Coins – Numismatics, Coins, Rarities – 1952 Halfcrown". colincooke.com.
External links
[edit]
cromwellcoins.com – view coins from the Commonwealth of England period, 1649–1660, including half crowns.
British Coins – free information about British coins (from 1656 to 1952). Includes an online forum.
Coins of the UK – a full history of the half crown.
The History of the Half-crown
Halfcrown, Coin Type from United Kingdom – Online Coin Club
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Edward VI half-crown, 1552 
Gold half crown of James I 
Charles I half-crown 
Half crown coin of Oliver Cromwell, 1658 
Half crown of Charles II, 1680 
Half crown of James II, 1687 
Half crown of 1691: William III and Mary II 
Half crown of William III, 1696 
Half crown of Queen Anne 
Half crown of George I, 1723 
Half crown of George II, 1746 
Half crown of George III, 1816 
Half crown of George IV, 1821 
Half crown of William IV, 1836 
Half-crown of Victoria, 1885 
Half-crown of Victoria, 1888 
The reverse of the 1905, Edward VII, half crown 
George V half crown, 1930 
George VI half crown, 1948 
The obverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown 
The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown 
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Numismatics portal
United Kingdom portal
