| ||||||
The half-sovereign was introduced in 1817 as part of a re-coinage at the end of the Napoleonic wars. From 1816 the silver coins no longer contained their intrinsic value of silver they are therefore termed a "token coinage". The gold content of the sovereign was however retained at full metal value. The half-sovereign was current at 10 shillings. The half sovereign was designed by Pistrucci and shows, on the reverse side, a rather angular shield displaying the arms of England, Scotland and Ireland in each corner and the German dominions in the center. The coins were struck in the new Royal Mint building on Tower Hill with steam powered presses supplied by Messrs Boulton, Watt and Rennie. | ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
| ||||||
|
|
Variety | Proof FDC | ||
---|---|---|---|
Mintage | unknown |
Source | Edition | About | Link | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Museums Victoria Collections | 2016 | Coin description | link | |
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins | 1971 | Mint | ||
Whitman, Guidebook of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries | 1962 | Mintage | ||
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins | 1971 | Mintage | ||
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom | Varieties | Proof FDC |
|
Country | United Kingdom |
---|---|
Currency | Pound Sterling (pre-decimal) |
Period | Pound Sterling (pre-decimal) (1801 - 1971) |
Coin Type | Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield) |
Issued | 1817 |
Monarch | King George III |
Effigy | Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head) |
Face Value | 1/2 (x Pound) |
Mintage | 2,080,197, Rarity: C (Common) |
Current | No (demonetised 1971) |
Material | 0.9167 Gold |
Designer | Benedetto Pistrucci |
Technology | Milled (machine-made) |
Shape | Round |
Size (mm) | 19.3000 |
Thickness (mm) | 0.9900 |
Mass (g) | 3.9940 |
Image | Details |
---|---|
![]() |
Coin - Half-Sovereign, George III, Great Britain, 1817
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source |
![]() |
Coin - Half-Sovereign, George III, Great Britain, 1817
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Justine Philip Source |
![]() |
Great Britain 1817 1/2 sovereign
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's-Bowers Source |
![]() |
Great Britain 1817 1/2 sovereign
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's-Bowers Source |
Source | Reference ID |
---|---|
Marsh, The Gold Half Sovereign | 400 |
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World | Great Britain 231 |
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins | Great Britain KM# 673 |
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom | 3786 |