½ Crown - Victoria 3rd portrait (1893–1901)

One row for each year the ½ Crown - Victoria 3rd 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; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. 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 1893 Half Crown - Victoria

The 1893 Half Crown - Victoria is a circulating ½ crown coin issued from 1893 to 1901, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 14.14g and measures 32.3mm across. Reverse design: Crowned quartered shield of arms in collar, legend around, divided date below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 9 years between 1893 and 1901, 19,646,600 coins in all. 1901 is the scarcest date, with 1,516,500 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1969), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

After the Jubilee portrait was widely criticised, a Committee on the Design of Coins was appointed in February 1891. It chose Thomas Brock's veiled portrait, and under the new designs every coin below the crown stated its value. A proclamation of 30 January 1893 made the designs current. Wikipedia records that this was the first half crown to show its value.

Wikipedia and Coin Hunter agree on all nine dates, from 1,516,570 in 1901 to 4,479,128 in 1900, about 19.6 million in all. Wikipedia adds that 1901-dated coins continued to be struck until Edward VII's coinage was ready in May 1902.

Brock's obverse shows the Queen in later life, wearing a small diadem partly covered by a veil, with a necklace and the Star of the Garter, and his initials TB below the bust. George William de Saulles cut the dies from it. The proclamation splits the titles: VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REG on the obverse, and FID DEF IND IMP on the reverse. IND IMP, for Empress of India, appeared on British coins for the first time in 1893.

The reverse carries the royal arms in a shield under the crown, surrounded by the collar of the Garter, with HALF CROWN and the date. Wikipedia credits the design to Brock. The edge is milled.

Varieties and errors

Tony Clayton notes minor reverse variations, mainly distinguished by the length of the border teeth, and illustrates an 1896 small reverse with longer teeth beside the normal one. Proofs dated 1893 were struck for that year's proof sets.

Collecting notes

No date in this series was struck in fewer than 1.5 million pieces, and 1894 and 1901 are the lowest. When sorting worn coins, the split legend and the words HALF CROWN separate this type from the Jubilee coin, which has no value on its reverse.

The half crown ceased to be legal tender on 1 January 1970. The florin of the same years is the Old Head florin.