The British half crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound, or two shillings and six

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

(abbreviated "2/6", familiarly "two and six"), or 30 (old) pence. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. No half crowns were issued in the reign of Mary, but from the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

half crowns were issued in every reign except that of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

, until the coins were discontinued in 1970. The half crown was

demonetised Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...

(ahead of other pre-decimal coins) on 1 January 1970, the year before the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

adopted

decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

Decimal Day Decimal Day in the United Kingdom and in Ireland was Monday 15 February 1971, the day on which each country decimalised its respective £sd currency of pounds, shillings, and pence. Before this date, the British pound sterling (symbol "£" ...

. During the

English Interregnum The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660 which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various for ...

of 1649–1660, a republican half crown was issued, bearing the arms of the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

, despite monarchist associations of the coin's name. When

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

was made Lord Protector of England, half crowns were issued bearing his portrait depicting him wearing a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom ('' Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel ('' Prunus laurocerasus''). It is ...

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".

History of the half crown by reign

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

1526: the first English half crown was struck in gold. *

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

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 Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

in 1554 but was never issued for circulation. Three specimens exist. *

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

: gold half crowns were issued again. At the end of the reign silver half crowns were issued. *

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

: 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 A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

period. *

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 William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic f ...

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 George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

1760–1820: silver half crown. *

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

1820–1830: silver half crown. * King William IV 1830–1837: silver half crown. *

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

1837–1901: silver half crown. *

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

1902–1910: silver half crown. *

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

1910–1936: silver half crown,

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. '' Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, i ...

(92½% silver) until 1919, then 50% silver. * King Edward VIII 1936: 50% silver half crown. Not issued for circulation. *

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

1937–1952: 50% silver half crowns were issued until 1946 when the metal was changed to

cupro-nickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a min ...

. *

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

1953–1967: the last half crown for general circulation was issued in 1967, and the coin was withdrawn in 1970, before

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

. 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

troy ounce Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and th ...

), dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until

in 1971.

Mintages

The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication ''Coin Yearbook''.

Gallery

File:Half crown of Edward VI (r. 1547–53) MET DP100457.jpg, Edward VI half-crown, 1552 File:NARC-03DB91, james I half crown reverse gold (FindID 536070).jpg, Gold half crown of James I File:Charles I half crown (FindID 455695).jpg, Charles I half-crown File:Cromwellcoin.jpg, Half crown coin of

, 1658 File:GREAT BRITAIN -CHARLES II, HALF CROWN 1680 a - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, Half crown of Charles II, 1680 File:James II Half crown obverse (FindID 55685).jpg, Half crown of James II, 1687 File:GREAT BRITAIN, WILLIAM III, MARY II 1691 -HALF CROWN b - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, Half crown of 1691: William III and Mary II File:PUBLIC-3CFDCF William III Half Crown (1696) (FindID 795243).jpg, Half crown of William III, 1696 File:Half-crown of Anne.jpg, Half crown of Queen Anne File:George2coin.jpg, Half crown of George II, 1746 File:George3coin.jpg, Half crown of George III, 1816 File:George4coin.jpg, Half crown of George IV, 1821 File:GREAT BRITAIN, WILLIAM IV 1836 -HALF CROWN b - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, Half crown of William IV, 1836 File:GREAT BRITAIN, QUEEN VICTORIA-1885 HALF CROWN b - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, Half-crown of Victoria, 1885 File:GREAT BRITAIN -VICTORIA HALF CROWN 1888 ab - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, Half-crown of Victoria, 1888 File:1905 Edward VII Halfcrown (reverse) UNCIRCULATED.JPG, The reverse of the 1905, Edward VII, half crown File:GREAT BRITAIN, GEORGE V, 1930 -HALF CROWN b - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, George V half crown, 1930 File:GREAT BRITAIN, GEORGE VI -HALF CROWN 1948 b - Flickr - woody1778a.jpg, George VI half crown, 1948 File:1953 half crown obverse.jpg, The obverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown File:1953 half crown reverse.jpg, The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown

References

External links