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The British three halfpence was a silver coin worth one and and a half penny (1½d) or 1/160th of a pre-decimal Pound Sterling ("d" is abbreviated from "denarius" - the Roman coin from which the penny is directly descended).
The denomination was produced for circulation in the British colonies, mainly in Ceylon, British Guiana, and the British West Indies as well as Mauritius and Sierra Leone which used the ordinary British currency. It was issued each year between 1834 and 1843, and also in 1860 and 1862; proof coins were also produced in 1870. It was a rough equivalent to the Indian Anna coin and to the Spanish-American quarter real used in Jamaica. The design and size are similar to the silver Maundy penny coins except for the crowned 1½ on the reverse.
The coin is considered to be part of the British coinage because it has no indication of what country it was minted for, being made in the same style as the other contemporary coins of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
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| Obverse | |
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Within a beaded border, the bare head of King William IV facing right (portrait by William Wyon). There are no designer's initials below.
Around, the monarch's legend GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:; translated from Latin: William the Fourth, by the Grace of God, King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith. |
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| Reverse | |
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Within an open oak wreath, the numeral value 1½ (one and a half penny).
Above the value, St Edward's Crown. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, it has been traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century (with a two-century gap between 1689 and 1911).
Divided by the value, the date of issue: 1835. |
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| Reverse Inscription |
1½ 1835 |
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| Edge | Plain | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Krause lists the regular coin (no overdate) with the note that it "requires confirmation", with mintage included in the 800,000 figure of the previous year, and the entire mintage of this year as overdate. |
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