Half crown (British coin)
Encyclopedia
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
worth half of a crown, equivalent to two and a half shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s (30 pennies), or one-eighth of a pound. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. No half crowns were issued in the reign of Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, but from the reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
half crowns were issued in every reign except Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, until the coins were discontinued in 1967. The half crown was demonetised (ahead of other pre-decimal coins) on 1 January 1970, the year before the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
adopted decimal currency on Decimal Day
Decimal Day
Decimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
.
During the English Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
of 1649-1660, a republican half crown was issued, bearing the arms of the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, despite monarchist associations of the coin's name. When Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
made himself Lord Protector of England, half crowns were issued bearing his semi-royal portrait.
The half crown did not display its value on the reverse until 1893.
History of the half crown by reign
- Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
1526: the first British half crown was struck in gold. - Edward VI of EnglandEdward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
1551: issued the first half crown in silver. The coin was dated and showed the king riding a horse. - Mary of England: the half crown was struck on Mary's marriage to Philip II of SpainPhilip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
in 1554 but was never issued for circulation. Three specimens exist. - Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
: gold half crowns were issued again. At the end of the reign silver half crowns were issued. - James I of EnglandJames I of EnglandJames VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
: gold half crowns were issued again. During the reign silver half crowns were issued. - Charles I of EnglandCharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
: silver half crowns were issued, including those struck as obsidional money, money of necessity during the Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
period. - Commonwealth of EnglandCommonwealth of EnglandThe Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
: Oliver CromwellOliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
silver half crowns were issued. During the years 1656 and 1658 milled half crowns were issued of Oliver Cromwell. - Charles II of EnglandCharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
1663–1685: silver half crowns were issued, and this period saw the end of the hammered issue of half crowns. - James II of EnglandJames II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
1685–1688: silver half crown. - WilliamWilliam III of EnglandWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
& MaryMary II of EnglandMary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
of England 1689–1694: silver half crown. - William III of EnglandWilliam III of EnglandWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
1694–1702: silver half crown. - Anne of Great BritainAnne of Great BritainAnne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
1702–1714: silver half crown. - George I of Great BritainGeorge I of Great BritainGeorge I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
1714–1727: silver half crown. - George II of Great BritainGeorge II of Great BritainGeorge II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
1727–1760: silver half crown. - George III of Great Britain 1760–1820: silver half crown.
- George IV of Great Britain 1820–1830: silver half crown.
- William IV of the United KingdomWilliam IV of the United KingdomWilliam IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
1830–1837: silver half crown. - Victoria of the United KingdomVictoria of the United KingdomVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
1837–1901: silver half crown. - Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
1902–1910: silver half crown. - George V of the United KingdomGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
1910–1936: silver half crown, sterling silverSterling silverSterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925....
(92½% silver) until 1919, then 50% silver. - Edward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
1936: 50% silver half crown. Not issued for circulation. - George VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
1937–1952: 50% silver half crowns were issued until 1946 when the metal was changed to cupro-nickel. - Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
1952–1970: the last half crown was issued in 1970 at the time of decimalisationDecimal DayDecimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
.
Size and weight
From George III, 1816, they had a diameter of 32 mm and a weight of 14.1 g, dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until decimalisation in 1971.Mintages
The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication COIN YEARBOOK. Proof mintages are indicated in italics.| Victoria | (Jubilee) | |||
| 1887 | 1890 | |||
| 1888 | 1891 | |||
| 1889 | 1892 | |||
| Victoria | (Old Head) | |||
| 1893 | 1898 | |||
| 1894 | 1899 | |||
| 1895 | 1900 | |||
| 1896 | 1901 | |||
| 1897 | ||||
| Edward VII | ||||
| 1902 | 1907 | |||
| 1903 | 1908 | |||
| 1904 | 1909 | |||
| 1905 | 1910 | |||
| 1906 | ||||
| George V | ||||
| 1911 | 1924 | |||
| 1912 | 1925 | |||
| 1913 | 1926 | |||
| 1914 | 1927 | |||
| 1915 | 1928 | |||
| 1916 | 1929 | |||
| 1917 | 1930 | |||
| 1918 | 1931 | |||
| 1919 | 1932 | |||
| 1920 | 1933 | |||
| 1921 | 1934 | |||
| 1922 | 1935 | |||
| 1923 | 1936 | |||
| George VI | ||||
| 1937 | 1945 | |||
| 1938 | 1946 | |||
| 1939 | 1947 | |||
| 1940 | 1948 | |||
| 1941 | 1949 | |||
| 1942 | 1950 | |||
| 1943 | 1951 | |||
| 1944 | 1952 | |||
| Elizabeth II | ||||
| 1953 | 1961 | |||
| 1954 | 1962 | |||
| 1955 | 1963 | |||
| 1956 | 1964 | |||
| 1957 | 1965 | |||
| 1958 | 1966 | |||
| 1959 | 1967 | |||
| 1960 | 1970 |
External links
- http://www.CromwellCoins.com - View coins from the Commonwealth of England period, 1649–1660, including halfcrowns.
- 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.
- http://www.tokenpublishing.com/ - Publishers of COIN YEARBOOK (mintage figure source)