Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield), Coin Type from United Kingdom

Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield), Coin Type from United Kingdom (issued 1817 - 1893)

Coin Type	Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield)

Half sovereigns of 1823-25 are very scarce, as is the superseding bare head type of 1826-28. Half sovereigns were not minted in large numbers until the 1840's.

Die numbering was an experiment done at the Royal Mint between 1863 and 1880 apparently in an attempt to gather data on die life. Die numbers are also noted on sixpences, shillings, florins and sovereigns.

Composition: fineness 22 carats (11/12 fine gold and 1/12 alloy). Millesimal fineness 916.66.

Obverse
Effigy of the ruling British monarch, legend (in Latin).

Obverse Inscription

Reverse

Reverse Inscription

Edge	Milled	Edge Inscription	None

Notes

References to additional information:

[Book] Marsh, Michael A. The Gold Half Sovereign. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Coins, 1982.

Coin Type: Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield) - (70) Coins

Coin Name	Mintage	Effigy	Legend
Half Sovereign 1817	2,080,197	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1817
Half Sovereign 1818	1,030,286	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1818
Half Sovereign 1820	35,043	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1820
Half Sovereign 1821	231,288	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1823	224,280	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1824	591,538	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1825	761,150	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1826	344,830	Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1826
Half Sovereign 1827	492,014	Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1827
Half Sovereign 1828	1,244,745	Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1828
Half Sovereign 1831 (Proof only)	unknown	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1834	133,899	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1835	772,554	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1836	146,865	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1837	160,207	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1838	273,341	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1838
Half Sovereign 1839 (Proof only)	1,230	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1839
Half Sovereign 1841	508,835	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1841
Half Sovereign 1842	2,223,352	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1842
Half Sovereign 1843	1,251,762	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1843
Half Sovereign 1844	1,127,007	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1844
Half Sovereign 1845	887,526	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1845
Half Sovereign 1846	1,063,928	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1846
Half Sovereign 1847	982,636	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1847
Half Sovereign 1848	410,595	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1848
Half Sovereign 1849	845,112	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1849
Half Sovereign 1850	179,595	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1850
Half Sovereign 1851	773,573	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1851
Half Sovereign 1852	1,377,671	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1852
Half Sovereign 1853	2,708,796	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1853
Half Sovereign 1854	1,125,144	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1854
Half Sovereign 1855	2,391,362	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1855
Half Sovereign 1856	2,391,909	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1856
Half Sovereign 1857	728,223	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1857
Half Sovereign 1858	855,578	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1858
Half Sovereign 1859	2,203,813	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1859
Half Sovereign 1860	1,131,500	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1860
Half Sovereign 1861	1,130,867	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1861
Half Sovereign 1862	unknown	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1862
Half Sovereign 1863	1,371,574	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1863
Half Sovereign 1864	1,758,490	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1864
Half Sovereign 1865	1,834,750	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1865
Half Sovereign 1866	2,058,776	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1866
Half Sovereign 1867	992,795	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1867
Half Sovereign 1869	1,861,764	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1869
Half Sovereign 1870	1,159,544	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1870
Half Sovereign 1871	2,242,970	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1871
Half Sovereign 1872	3,604,627	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1872
Half Sovereign 1873	2,092,084	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1873
Half Sovereign 1874	1,884,432	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1874
Half Sovereign 1875	768,240	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1875
Half Sovereign 1876	2,785,187	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1876
Half Sovereign 1877	2,337,482	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1877
Half Sovereign 1878	2,081,941	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1878
Half Sovereign 1879	255,201	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1879
Half Sovereign 1880	1,089,049	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1880
Half Sovereign 1881	104,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1881
Half Sovereign 1882	158,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1882
Half Sovereign 1883	3,090,457	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1883
Half Sovereign 1884	1,181,756	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1884
Half Sovereign 1885	4,479,871	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1885
Half Sovereign 1886	120,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1886
Half Sovereign 1887 Young head	198,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1887
Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head	1,070,567	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1888 (Proof only)	unknown	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1889	64,000	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1890	2,266,023	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1891	1,233,286	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1892	13,680,486	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1893 Shield	4,536,649	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA

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Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield): Details

Country	United Kingdom
Currency	Pound Sterling (pre-decimal)
Sub-type of	Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal)
From	1817
To	1893
Face Value	1/2 (x Pound)
Current	No (demonetised 1971)
Material	0.9167 Gold
Designer	Jean Baptiste Merlen
Technology	Milled (machine-made)
Shape	Round
Size	19.3000 mm
Thickness	0.9900 mm
Mass	3.9940 g

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Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield): Photos

Image	Details
	Coin - Half-Sovereign, George IV, Great Britain, 1821 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source
	Coin - Half-Sovereign, George IV, Great Britain, 1824 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source
	Proof Coin - Half-Sovereign, William IV, Great Britain, 1831 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source
	Great Britain 1887 1/2 sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's-Bowers Source
	Coin - Half-Sovereign, George IV, Great Britain, 1824 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Notes: King George IV, portrait by Pistrucci (1817 - 1825). Source
	Coin - Half-Sovereign, George IV, Great Britain, 1828 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Notes: King George IV, portrait by Merlen (1826 - 1828). Source
	Proof Coin - Half-Sovereign, William IV, Great Britain, 1831 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source
	Great Britain 1883 1/2 sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's Bowers Notes: Queen Victoria, Young Head (1838 - 1887). Source
	Great Britain 1887 1/2 sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's-Bowers Notes: Queen Victoria, Jubilee Head (1887 - 1893). Source

Relevant Links

Royal Mint: The Sovereign Reverse Designs

Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield), Coin Type from United Kingdom - detailed information