Half crown (British coin)

Template:Short description Template:Infobox coin The British half crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth Template:Frac 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".<ref>"Half-a-dollar", Collins Dictionary. Retrieved 5 October 2022</ref>

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

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Gold half crown of Elizabeth I, 1580/81

File:English Half-Crown Newark 1646.jpg

This 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

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 Template:Frac troy ounce<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>), dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until decimalisation in 1971.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mintages

The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication Coin Yearbook.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Half-crown mintages 1887–1970

Monarch	Obverse variant	Year	Mintages
			General	Proof
Victoria	Jubilee	1887	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1888	Template:Val
		1889	Template:Val
		1890	Template:Val
		1891	Template:Val
		1892	Template:Val
	Old head	1893	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1894	Template:Val
		1895	Template:Val
		1896	Template:Val
		1897	Template:Val
		1898	Template:Val
		1899	Template:Val
		1900	Template:Val
		1901	Template:Val
Edward VII		1902	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1903	Template:Val
		1904	Template:Val
		1905	Template:Val
		1906	Template:Val
		1907	Template:Val
		1908	Template:Val
		1909	Template:Val
		1910	Template:Val
George V		1911	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1912	Template:Val
		1913	Template:Val
		1914	Template:Val
		1915	Template:Val
		1916	Template:Val
		1917	Template:Val
		1918	Template:Val
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		1920	Template:Val
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		1922	Template:Val
		1923	Template:Val
		1924	Template:Val
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		1926	Template:Val
		1927	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1928	Template:Val
		1929	Template:Val
		1930	Template:Val
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		1932	Template:Val
		1933	Template:Val
		1934	Template:Val
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		1936	Template:Val
George VI		1937	Template:Val	Template:Val
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		1948	Template:Val
		1949	Template:Val
		1950	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1951	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1952	Template:Val<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Elizabeth II		1953	Template:Val	Template:Val
		1954	Template:Val
		1955	Template:Val
		1956	Template:Val
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		1964	Template:Val
		1965	Template:Val
		1966	Template:Val
		1967	Template:Val
		1970	Template:Val	Template:Val

Gallery

• 
  Edward VI half-crown, 1552
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  Gold half crown of James I
• 
  Charles I half-crown
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  Half crown coin of Oliver Cromwell, 1658
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  Half crown of Charles II, 1680
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  Half crown of James II, 1687
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  Half crown of 1691: William III and Mary II
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  Half crown of William III, 1696
• Half crown of Queen Anne
  Half crown of Queen Anne
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  Half crown of George I, 1723
• Half crown of George II, 1746
  Half crown of George II, 1746
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  Half crown of George III, 1816
• Half crown of George IV, 1821
  Half crown of George IV, 1821
• 
  Half crown of William IV, 1836
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  Half-crown of Victoria, 1885
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  Half-crown of Victoria, 1888
• 
  The reverse of the 1905, Edward VII, half crown
• 
  George V half crown, 1930
• George VI half crown, 1948
  George VI half crown, 1948
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  The obverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown
• The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown
  The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown

See also

• Half crown (Irish coin)

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