Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 50 verified sales in the last 12 months.
½ Crown - George V 3rd type Modified Effigy (1926–1927)
Circulating version: 1926 1 Farthing - George V modified effigy
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1926–1927 |
| Denomination | ½ Crown |
| Face value | 12.5p |
| Mintage by year |
Scarcest year: 4,473,500 struck
|
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | 1969 |
| Composition | Silver (.500) (500/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 14.140g · 0.2273 t oz |
| Diameter | 32.3mm |
| Thickness | 2.00mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Bertram Mackennal |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King George V left, legend around.
GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX
Crowned quartered shield of arms within Garter band, legend around, divided date below.
FID DEF IND IMP HALF CROWN
Modified Effigy Half Crown market value
Find this on eBay
AffiliateModified Effigy Half Crown price history
Daily limit reachedModified Effigy Half Crown value by year
1926 to 1927 · median sold prices| Year | Mintage | Circulated | Uncirculated | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 scarcest | 4,473,500 | £12.94 | £95.00 | 46 | |
|
VF£12.50EF£28.00UNC£95.00
⭐ Pro: the 1926 coin's sales by grade, and the chart filtered to one year
Start 7-day free trial
|
|||||
| 1927 | 6,852,800 | £13.24 | £115.00 | 11 | |
|
VF£12.50EF£28.00UNC£95.00
⭐ Pro: the 1927 coin's sales by grade, and the chart filtered to one year
Start 7-day free trial
|
|||||
One row for each year the ½ Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy 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.
Modified Effigy Half Crown value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £9.54 🔒 eBay | £95.00 | – | £9.54 – £140.00 | 1 | 7 | 10-10-2026 | |
|
Loading…
|
||||||||
| VF | £16.15 🔒 eBay | £16.75 | ▲49% | £6.98 – £170.00 | 45 | 46 | 13-10-2026 | |
|
Loading…
|
||||||||
| PR-65 | £68.30 🔒 eBay | £115.00 | – | £68.30 – £140.00 | 4 | 4 | 13-10-2026 | |
|
Loading…
|
||||||||
About the 1926 Half Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy
The 1926 Half Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy is a circulating ½ crown coin issued from 1926 to 1927, struck in 50% silver. It weighs 14.14g and measures 32.3mm across. Reverse design: Crowned quartered shield of arms within Garter band, legend around, divided date below.
Mintage figures are recorded for 2 years between 1926 and 1927, 11,326,300 coins in all. 1926 is the scarcest date, with 4,473,500 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1969), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1926 Half Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1926 Half Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy run from £16.75 to £115 across 3 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one. Its silver content is worth about £9.07 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
What is a modified effigy half crown?
It is a half crown of 1926 or 1927 with a reworked version of Mackennal's portrait of George V. Tony Clayton says the B.M. initials on the truncation sit further right and lose their full stops, and the beading around the edge differs on both sides.
How many 1926 modified effigy half crowns were made?
No separate figure is published. Coin Hunter and Wikipedia give a single 1926 total of 4,473,516, covering both the old and modified portraits. The 1927 half crown, all modified effigy for circulation, has a mintage of 6,837,872.
Is the 1927 half crown the old design or the new one?
Both exist. Circulating 1927 half crowns have the modified portrait and the old shield in the Garter. The new Kruger Gray design dated 1927 was issued only in proof sets; it reached circulation from 1928.
Is the modified effigy half crown still legal tender?
No. The half crown was dropped before decimalisation, and the Royal Mint Museum says it ceased to be legal tender in January 1970.
How is the 1926 Half Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy different from the circulating coin?
This is a collector version of the 1926 1 Farthing - George V modified effigy, not the coin found in change. At 14.14g of 50% silver it is heavier than the 2.83g copper circulating coin, so weighing it is the quickest check.
How do I identify the 1926 Half Crown - George V 3rd type – Modified Effigy?
Check the weight 14.14g and diameter 32.3mm and the metal (50% silver) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
In 1926 the obverse of the half crown changed. Tony Clayton records that the effigy was modified that year, and coins dated 1926 exist with both the original and the modified portrait. The new head was used on the half crown for the rest of 1926 and throughout 1927, until Kruger Gray's new reverse arrived.
Mintage figures do not separate the two portraits. Coin Hunter and Wikipedia's table, taken from Coin Yearbook, give one figure for 1926, 4,473,516, covering both. For 1927 they give 6,837,872, all of this type, since the new 1927 design appeared only as proofs.
The Royal Mint Museum explains that Mackennal's portrait was technically unsuited to coinage and caused ghosting, a faint image of one side showing through on the other. No published source explains the 1926 change in detail, so its purpose is not stated here.
The reverse is unchanged from the 1911 proclamation: the royal arms in a crowned shield within the Garter, HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE, with FID DEF IND IMP, HALF CROWN and the date. The obverse legend is still GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX.
The portrait is a reworked version of Bertram Mackennal's bare head. Clayton says the B.M. on the truncation moved further right and lost its full stops, and the beading round the edge differs on both sides. TreasureRealm adds that the border reaches further inwards on modified effigy coins. The edge is milled.
Collecting notes
To check a 1926 coin, compare it with a 1920 to 1925 half crown or a 1928 to 1936 one; Clayton calls this the most straightforward test. On worn coins the initials are often the first detail lost, as TreasureRealm notes, so the border is the more reliable guide.
Clayton's value tables treat the 1926 modified effigy and the 1927 as ordinary dates, well below the 1924 and 1925 of the earlier type. The new design that followed is the Kruger Gray half crown. Half crowns ceased to be legal tender in January 1970.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Coin values by year, George V (1926 and 1927 year pages), Coin Hunter (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Old Effigy vs Modified Effigy Halfcrowns, Shillings, and Sixpence of George V, TreasureRealm (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining new designs for certain silver coins of the realm (3 November 1927), The London Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Half crown (British coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- George V, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Initials on British coins, TreasureRealm (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining new designs for silver coins (23 January 1911), The London Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Half Crown, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Values of Half Crowns, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Half-crown, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Florin, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
More ½ Crown coins from nearby years
