½ Crown - George III 2nd portrait (1817–1820)

One row for each year the ½ Crown - George III 2nd portrait was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1817 Half Crown - George III

The 1817 Half Crown - George III is a circulating ½ crown coin issued from 1817 to 1820, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 14.14g and measures 32mm across. Reverse design: Crowned and quartered ornate shield of arms overlaid with smaller shield in centre, all within Royal Garter, legend around.

Mintage figures are recorded for 4 years between 1817 and 1820, 18,184,100 coins in all. 1820 is the scarcest date, with 2,396,500 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1969), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The small head half crown replaced the first coin of the Great Recoinage within a year. The Royal Mint Museum explains that Benedetto Pistrucci's first portrait of George III, the bull head, was unpopular, and Tony Clayton notes that a new design came out during 1817. The half crown was then struck each year until the King died in January 1820. Clayton points out that 1820 half crowns were issued for both George III and George IV.

Coin Hunter gives 2,905,056 for 1818, 4,790,016 for 1819 and 2,396,592 for 1820. Its 1817 figure of 8,092,656 covers both portraits. Wikipedia records that the Mint struck about 17 million half crowns between 1816 and 1820, part of a recoinage that also produced nearly 40 million shillings.

The obverse carries a smaller laureate head of the King facing right, with GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA and the date below. The Royal Mint Museum credits Pistrucci with the portraits of the new coinage from 1816, and Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums names him on its small head example.

The reverse is simpler than on the bull head. A Science Museum Group record of 1817 describes a crowned shield within the Garter and its motto, with the arms of England, Scotland and Ireland and, on a small central shield, the arms of Hanover under the Electoral cap. The legend reads BRITANNIARUM REX FID: DEF: and the edge is milled. The coin weighs 14.14 g and is 32 mm across.

Varieties and errors

The 1819 overdate, with the 9 over an 8, is listed by Coin Hunter and marked 'ex. rare' in Clayton's tables. 1817 exists with both portraits. The Royal Mint Museum holds 1819 half crowns struck off centre and double struck.

Collecting notes

Clayton notes that worn George III half crowns are very common. Wear shows first on the hair above the ear and on the Garter lettering. 1820 has the lowest figure of the four dates. For the first portrait see the bull head half crown. The half crown ceased to be legal tender on 1 January 1970.