Half crown (British coin)

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 of one pound, or two shillings and six pence (abbreviated "2/6", familiarly "two and six"), or 30 pre-decimal pence. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of Edward VI. 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.

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. 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]

History of the half crown by reign

King Henry VIII 1526: the first English half crown was struck in gold.
King Edward VI 1551: issued the first half crown in silver. The coin 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 halfcrown, were issued by the Royal Mint, bearing the date 1970.

Size and weight

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

The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication Coin Yearbook.^[4]

Half-crown mintages 1887–1970
Monarch	Obverse variant	Year	Mintages
Monarch	Obverse variant	Year	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	15255165
		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

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 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

References

^ "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

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