What is a British half crown coin?

Answer 1

The Sovereign coin started as a denomination of the old redundant predecimal British currency system and dates back to the time of Henry VII, but is still being minted today.

The Sovereign was not used much outside Britain other than by Britain's colonies prior to them having their own currencies, such as Australia, New Zealand and others.

The name "Sovereign" comes from the magnificent appearance and size of the coin.

The Sovereign was made from gold of varying weight and purity over the years, until the Great Recoinage Law of 1816 when the gold content was fixed to 7.322 grams, at which it currently remains.

A Sovereign coin represented One Pound or 20 Shillings or 240 Pennies in the old currency.

Variants of the Sovereign minted at different times includes the Five Sovereign, Double Sovereign, Half-Sovereign and Third-Sovereign coins. In 2009, a Quarter Sovereign coin was produced for the first time.

At Britains conversion to decimal currency in February, 1971, the Sovereign remained at the face value of One Pound, or 100 Pence in the new currency.

Current Sovereigns weigh in at 7.9881 grams, are 1.52 mm thick, have a diameter of 22.05 mm, fineness is 22 carat or 91.67% gold, and the gold content is 7.3224 grams.

These days, the Sovereign is minted as a Bullion or Proof coin only and is substantially more valuable than its nominal value of One Pound.

From a coin collectors perspective, a Sovereign coin, depending on the year, condition and method of minting, could be worth anything from a couple of hundred Pounds to several tens of thousand of Pounds GBP. The collector value of the Sovereign may reflect the price of gold more than the coin itself.

These coins are often used in jewellery with a value of the order of £100.

Answer 2

A Half-Sovereign coin started as a denomination of the old redundant predecimal British currency system and dates back to the time of Henry VIII, but is still being minted today. The modern Half-Sovereign being reintroduced into the currency in 1817.

The Half-Sovereign was not used much outside Britain other than by Britain's colonies prior to them having their own currencies, such as Australia, New Zealand and others.

The name "Sovereign" comes from the magnificent appearance and size of the coin, and a Half-Sovereign, as the name suggests, is half as valuable (and almost as magnificent).

As with the Sovereign, the Half-Sovereign was made from gold of varying weight and purity over the years, until the Great Recoinage Law of 1816 when the gold content was fixed to 3.7 grams, at which it currently remains.

A Half-Sovereign coin represented Half a Pound or 10 Shillings or 120 Pennies in the old currency.

The Half-Sovereign coin has not had great continuity of minting and was not minted from 1938 until 1979 inclusive. At Britains conversion to decimal currency in February, 1971, the Half-Sovereign, although not being minted at the time, remained at Half a Pound, or 50 Pence in the new currency.

Current Half-Sovereigns weigh in at 3.99 grams, have a diameter of 19.30 mm, fineness is 22 carat or 91.67% gold, and the gold content is 3.7 grams.

These days, the Half-Sovereign is usually minted as a Bullion or Proof coin only and is substantially more valuable than its nominal or face value.

From a coin collectors perspective, a Half-Sovereign coin, depending on the year, condition and method of minting, could be worth anything from a few Pounds to several thousand of Pounds GBP.

Answer 3

Please note that the Halfcrown is part of a redundant or obsolete currency, and no longer has an exchange rate with any other currency. The Halfcrown coin was withdrawn from circulation and demonetised in 1970.

A Halfcrown coin is a denomination of the old predecimal British currency system and dates back to the time of Henry VIII.

A Halfcrown coin represented 30 Pence, Two Shillings and Sixpence (2/6) or, half of a Crown, or 1/8th of a Pound, depending on your frame of reference.

Originally, the Halfcrown was made from gold and then silver of varying quality. From 1816 the Halfcrown was made from 0.925 "sterling" silver. From 1920 the silver content was reduced to 0.500 and from 1947 they were made from a copper/nickel alloy.

Since 1816, the Halfcrown has remained 32 mm in diameter and varied in weight from 14.1 to 14.2 grams and was last minted for circulation in 1967.

At Britain's conversion to decimal currency in February, 1971, the Halfcrown coin had no new decimal equivalent coin, but was equal to 12.5 New Pence in the new currency.

From a coin collectors perspective, a Halfcrown coin, depending on the year, condition and method of minting, could be worth anything from bullion value to several thousand pounds GBP.

Answer 4

A Shilling coin is a denomination of the old redundant predecimal British currency system and dates back to the time of Henry VII when it was known as a "Testoon". It became known as a "Shilling" around 1550 when due to financial necessity, Edward the VI was required to produce coins of value where the metal in the coin did not exceed the face value of the coin.

The Shilling coin was also used by many other Commonwealth countries including Australia and New Zealand.

The name "Shilling" was derived from the word "Schilling" which is an Anglo-Saxon term referring to the value of livestock. The relationship to the German and Austrian Schilling is unclear and is possibly just a coincidence.

Originally, the Shilling was made from silver of varying quality and from 1551, they were made from 0.925 "sterling" silver. From about 1919 the silver content was reduced to 0.500 and from 1947 they were made from a copper/nickel alloy.

Since 1816, the Shilling has varied from 23 to 23.6 mm in diameter and weighed from 5.61 to 5.65 grams.

A Shilling coin represented 12 Pence (12d) or, 1/20th of a Sovereign or 1/20th of a Pound.

A common slang term for the Shilling was a "bob", which gave rise to the Scouting tradition of "Bob a job week" where Scouts would perform requested household tasks for friends and neighbours for the cost of a "bob".

The British Shilling was last minted for circulation in 1966. At Britain's conversion to decimal currency in February, 1971, the Shilling coin converted to 5 New Pence in the new currency. In most other Commonwealth countries, the Shilling converted to 10 cents at decimalisation.

Shillings and the old style 5 Pence coins co-circulated up till the early 1990's when new and much smaller 5 Pence coins were introduced. All older 5 Pence and 1 Shilling coins were then withdrawn from circulation and demonetised in 1991.

From a coin collectors perspective, a Shilling coin, depending on the year, condition and method of minting, could be worth anything from a few Pounds to several thousand Pounds GBP.

Please note that since the Shilling is part of a redundant or obsolete currency, it no longer has an "exchange rate" with other currencies.

Answer 5

A Crown coin is a denomination of the old predecimal British currency system and dates back to the time of Henry VIII. The Crown coin was also used by many other Commonwealth countries.

Originally, the Crown was made from gold and then silver of varying quality. From 1816 the Crown was made from 0.925 "sterling" silver. From 1919/1920 the silver content of all British silver coins was reduced to 0.500 and from 1947 they were made from a copper/nickel alloy.

Since 1816, the Crown has varied from 37.6 to 38.6 mm in diameter and has weighed from 28.1759 to 28.4 grams.

A Crown coin represented Five Shillings (5/-) or, a quarter of a Sovereign or a quarter of a Pound, or 60 Pence.

The Royal Mint advises that predecimal Crowns struck from 1818 to 1965 have not been demonetised. At the time of decimalisation, they were redenominated to 25 Pence and continue to be legal tender for that amount.

At Britains conversion to decimal currency in February, 1971, the Crown coin had no new decimal equivalent coin, but was equal to 25 New Pence in the new currency.

There was a 25 Pence coin minted occasionally for commemorative purposes, which also come to be known as a Crown because it was of the same weight and size as the predecimal Crown. Just to add to the confusion, since 1990, the British Five Pound coin has come to be known as a "Crown". Both of the newer coins are referred to as "Crowns" because they are "Crown" sized coins.

From a coin collectors perspective, a Crown coin, depending on the year, condition and method of minting, could be worth anything from bullion value to several thousand pounds GBP.

Please note that since the predecimal Crown is part of a redundant or obsolete currency, it does not have an exchange rate with other currencies.

Answer 6

At one time, all British gold coins including the Sovereign, were circulating currency.

Since 1980 particularly, the 22 carat gold Five Pound, Two Pound, Sovereign and Half-Sovereign coins can be considered non-circulating legal tender and are only produced as Proof FDC for collectors and investors. Their actual value is much greater than their face value and you would be a fool to spend one at the shops for a Pound's worth of goods.

Bullion is defined as a precious metal such as gold or silver, etc., in the form of bars or ingots for storage or future processing.

Bullion is more or less what you would have if you melted the coins down for their gold value.

Answer 7

The Royal Mint has never produced a Quarter-Sovereign coin until 2009. There has never been a need for a Quarter-Sovereign coin, since the Crown (Five Shillings) did the job and, after decimalisation, the 25 Pence coin to a lesser extent.

The sudden interest shown in a Quarter-Sovereign coin seems to stem from a disreputable somebody claiming to have scooped the world market on a finite number of coins only available to them and, mysteriously originating in Another Country.

Answer 8

A British half crown is a pre decimal coin, worth 2 shillings and sixpence. There were twenty shillings in a pound, so half a crown would have been equal to one eighth of a pound.