½ Penny - George III 4th issue (1806–1807)

One row for each year the ½ Penny - George III 4th issue 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 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue

The 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue is a circulating ½ penny coin issued from 1806 to 1807, struck in copper. It weighs 9.45g and measures 28.7mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia facing left, trident in left hand, shield with Union flag resting on left, olive branch in raised right hand, legend above, sea behind with ship on left.

It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1869), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Boulton's 1797 contract covered only pennies and twopences, and a 1799 contract brought Soho halfpennies and farthings. When copper rose again, a further contract followed, and Wikipedia records that in 1806 Boulton struck 427.5 tons of copper into halfpennies. The new coins were lighter than those of 1799, about 9.2 to 9.8 grams and 29 millimetres, yet this time the public raised no objection.

Coin Hunter gives 87,993,526 halfpennies dated 1806 and 41,394,384 dated 1807. Tony Clayton notes that these were the last halfpennies of the reign: the Great Recoinage of about 1816 gave priority to gold and silver, and halfpennies did not return until 1825 under George IV.

The dies were engraved at Soho by Conrad Heinrich Küchler. The obverse shows a laureate and draped bust of George III facing right with GEORGIUS III D: G REX and the date below, and Küchler's initial K on the truncation. The reverse shows Britannia seated left on a rock among the waves, holding a trident and an olive branch, with the Union shield beside her, a ship sailing behind and BRITANNIA above.

SOHO appears in small raised letters below the shield. The Royal Mint Museum describes the edge of its currency examples as engrailed, a grained band set in a groove. Wikipedia credits Boulton's edge lines with greatly reducing counterfeiting.

Varieties and errors

The olive branch in Britannia's hand differs between dies. CoinVarieties notes that many berry varieties exist and illustrates an 1806 halfpenny with no berries; a Soho proof described by Spink has two.

Collecting notes

These halfpennies circulated for decades and most survive worn. Check the K on the truncation, the berries on the branch, and the SOHO below the shield, and look for corrosion and verdigris. Proofs were also struck at Soho in copper, bronzed copper and gilt copper; the gilt version is covered at 1806 gilt halfpenny. The earlier, heavier Soho issue is the 1799 halfpenny.