½ Penny - George III 1st issue (1770–1775)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1770–1775 |
| Denomination | ½ Penny |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | 1817 |
| Composition | Copper |
| Weight | 10.000g |
| Diameter | 29.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Laureate and cuirassed bust of King George III facing right, legend around.
Seated figure of Britannia facing left, trident in left hand, olive branch in right, shield with Union flag resting on left, legend around, date in exergue.
Halfpenny - George III 1st issue market value
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AffiliateHalfpenny - George III 1st issue price history
Daily limit reachedHalfpenny - George III 1st issue 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 | £320.00 🔒 | £320.00 (1) | – | £150.00 – £420.00 | 0 | 11 | 07-09-2025 | |
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| EF | £85.00 🔒 | £85.00 (1) | – | £60.00 – £140.00 | 0 | 13 | 06-03-2022 | |
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| VF | £220.00 🔒 | £140.00 | – | £44.00 – £220.00 | 0 | 9 | 06-06-2021 | |
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| G | £110.00 🔒 | £115.00 (2) | – | £110.00 – £120.00 | 0 | 2 | 05-09-2005 | |
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| MS-60 | £200.00 🔒 | £200.00 (1) | – | £200.00 – £200.00 | 0 | 1 | 01-06-2025 | |
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| MS-65 | £200.00 🔒 | £200.00 (1) | – | £200.00 – £200.00 | 0 | 1 | 07-12-2014 | |
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| PR-65 | £1,700.00 🔒 | £1,700.00 (1) | – | £240.00 – £1,700.00 | 0 | 6 | 04-09-2022 | |
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About the 1770 Halfpenny - George III 1st issue
The 1770 Halfpenny - George III 1st issue is a circulating ½ penny coin issued from 1770 to 1775, struck in copper. It weighs 10g and measures 29mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia facing left, trident in left hand, olive branch in right, shield with Union flag resting on left, legend around, date in exergue.
It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1817), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1770 Halfpenny - George III 1st issue worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1770 Halfpenny - George III 1st issue run from £85.00 to £1,700 across 7 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many George III halfpennies were made between 1770 and 1775?
No figure is recorded. CoinVarieties, citing the Spink and Krause catalogues, gives the mintage of every date from 1770 to 1775 as unknown, describing 1770 and 1772 as not rare. Coin Hunter, which gives a figure for the 1799 Soho halfpenny, has none for these dates.
How can you tell a genuine 1770s halfpenny from a contemporary forgery?
Weight is the first check. The Royal Mint Museum's genuine 1770 and 1771 coins weigh 9.44 g to 9.86 g, while a counterfeit of the type in Amgueddfa Cymru weighs 7.73 g. Tony Clayton also illustrates a 1775 forgery made for North America with a crude 'skeletal' drapery.
What does the inscription on the 1770s halfpenny say?
The obverse reads GEORGIVS III REX around the laureate, cuirassed bust of the king facing right. The reverse reads BRITANNIA around the seated figure of Britannia holding an olive branch, with the date in the exergue below. There is no statement of value on the coin.
Is a 1770s George III halfpenny still legal tender?
No. A proclamation of 5 December 1817, printed in the London Gazette, declared that Mint halfpennies and farthings issued under proclamations before 26 July 1797 should no longer pass, and told holders to bring them to the Mint by 31 December 1817. That covers the whole 1770 to 1775 Tower issue.
How do I identify the 1770 Halfpenny - George III 1st issue?
Check the weight 10g and diameter 29mm and the metal (copper) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The last George II halfpennies were dated 1754, and Tony Clayton notes that none were struck again until 1770, by which time most halfpence in circulation seem to have been forgeries. George III's first halfpenny was struck at the Tower Mint in London from 1770 to 1775. Clayton records a 24 year gap after 1775 before the next official halfpenny, Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint coin of 1799.
No mintage figures survive for any of the six dates. CoinVarieties, drawing on the Spink and Krause catalogues, lists every date from 1770 to 1775 as unknown, and notes that the issue did little to ease the shortage of small change that encouraged private tokens and counterfeits.
The obverse shows a laureate, cuirassed bust of George III facing right with the legend GEORGIVS III REX. The reverse has Britannia seated left, holding an olive branch, with BRITANNIA around and the date in the exergue. There is no mark of value: like other copper of the period, the halfpenny was known by its size and weight.
The Royal Mint Museum's examples of 1770 and 1771 are struck at the Tower with a plain edge and the reverse upside down relative to the obverse. They weigh between 9.44 g and 9.86 g. The engraver of the dies is not named in the museum records.
Varieties and errors
Coin Hunter's listings include a 1772 obverse misspelt GEORIVS, coins without the stop on the reverse for 1770 to 1773, and a 1773 coin with no stop after REX. Clayton's picture page labels his 1770 and 1772 coins first head and the 1774 coin second head.
Collecting notes
Counterfeits are the main hazard. A forgery of the type in Amgueddfa Cymru weighs 7.73 g, well below the Royal Mint Museum's genuine coins, and Clayton illustrates a 1775 forgery made for use in North America with a crude 'skeletal' drapery. Weigh any example and compare the lettering and bust with a genuine coin. Deliberately altered imitations, the evasion halfpence, are a separate class with nonsense legends: see the evasion token.
CoinVarieties is not consistent on scarcity: its 1770 to 1772 pages call the type scarce even in worn condition, while its 1773 to 1775 pages say it is not rare. Lightweight pieces with weak or blundered lettering should be treated as contemporary forgeries until shown otherwise. The next regal type is the 1799 Soho halfpenny.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- The Halfpenny, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III halfpenny, 1770 (RMM 1070), with RMM 1069, 1072 and 1073, The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Object search: halfpenny dated 1773 issued by George III (Culture Perth and Kinross BC642 to BC646, and BC636 to BC640 for 1772), Culture Perth and Kinross, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- 1770 to 1775 coin values (year pages read one by one), Coin Hunter (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1770 half penny (and the 1771 to 1775 pages), CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
- The Penny, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Pictures of Half Penny Coins of George III, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Object search: George III halfpenny 1770 (Amgueddfa Cymru counterfeit 95.39H/13), Amgueddfa Cymru, Museum Wales, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation on copper coin, 5 December 1817, The London Gazette (read 12 Oct 2026)
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