Half crown (British coin)

• King Henry VIII 1526: the first English half crown was struck in gold.
• King Edward VI 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 in 1554 but was never issued for circulation. Three specimens exist.
• Queen Elizabeth I: gold half crowns were issued again. At the end of the reign silver half crowns were issued.
• King James I: 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 period.
• Commonwealth of England: Oliver Cromwell 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 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 1760–1820: silver half crown.
• King George IV 1820–1830: silver half crown.
• King William IV 1830–1837: silver half crown.
• Queen Victoria 1837–1901: silver half crown.
• King Edward VII 1902–1910: silver half crown.
• King George V 1910–1936: silver half crown, sterling silver (92½% silver) until 1919, then 50% silver.
• King Edward VIII 1936: 50% silver half crown. Not issued for circulation.
• King George VI 1937–1952: 50% silver half crowns were issued until 1946 when the metal was changed to cupro-nickel.
• Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1967: the last half crown for general circulation was issued in 1967, and the coin was withdrawn in 1970, before decimalisation. Proof sets of £sd coins, including the halfcrown, were issued by the Royal Mint, bearing the date 1970.

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 5⁄11 troy ounce^[2]), dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until decimalisation in 1971.^[3]

The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication Coin Yearbook.^[4]

•  
  Edward VI half-crown, 1552
•  
  Gold half crown of James I
•  
  Charles I half-crown
•  
  Half crown coin of Oliver Cromwell, 1658
•  
  Half crown of Charles II, 1680
•  
  Half crown of James II, 1687
•  
  Half crown of 1691: William III and Mary II
•  
  Half crown of William III, 1696
•  
  Half crown of Queen Anne
•  
  Half crown of George II, 1746
•  
  Half crown of George III, 1816
•  
  Half crown of George IV, 1821
•  
  Half crown of William IV, 1836
•  
  Half-crown of Victoria, 1885
•  
  Half-crown of Victoria, 1888
•  
  The reverse of the 1905, Edward VII, half crown
•  
  George V half crown, 1930
•  
  George VI half crown, 1948
•  
  The obverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown
•  
  The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown

• Half crown (Irish coin)

• cromwellcoins.com – view coins from the Commonwealth of England period, 1649–1660, including half crowns.
• British Coins – free information about British coins (from 1656 to 1952). Includes an online forum.
• Coins of the UK – a full history of the half crown.
• The History of the Half-crown^{[permanent dead link]}
• Halfcrown, Coin Type from United Kingdom – Online Coin Club