½ Penny - George III 4th issue - Pattern (1806)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1806 |
| Denomination | ½ Penny |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | 1969 |
| Composition | Gold plated copper |
| Weight | 9.450g |
| Diameter | 28.0mm |
| Thickness | 1.50mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Engrailed |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Obv. artist | Conrad Heinrich Küchler |
| Rev. artist | Conrad Heinrich Küchler |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Laureate and draped bust of King George III facing right, legend around, date below.
Seated figure of Britannia facing left with trident and shield with Union flag. Olive branch in raised right hand, legend above, sea behind with ship on left.
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue - Pattern
The 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue - Pattern is a collector ½ penny coin, struck in gold plated copper. It weighs 9.45g and measures 28mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia facing left with trident and shield with Union flag. Olive branch in raised right hand, legend above, sea behind with ship on left.
It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1969), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue - Pattern worth?
No verified sale of the 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue - Pattern has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
Is the gilt 1806 halfpenny a pattern?
Strictly it is a proof. The design matches the circulating halfpenny issued in 1806, and both the Royal Mint Museum and the Ashmolean Museum record their gilt examples as proofs. Collectors and catalogues sometimes call such pieces patterns.
How many gilt 1806 halfpennies were made?
No figure is recorded. The 87,993,526 halfpennies dated 1806 given by Coin Hunter are the ordinary copper currency coins. The gilt proofs were a small separate striking made at the Soho Mint.
What does a gilt 1806 halfpenny weigh?
The Royal Mint Museum's gilt proof weighs 9.5 g, and the Ashmolean's late Soho gilt example 9.35 g with a diameter of 28.1 mm. Both have the grained edge in a groove and medal-fashion die alignment.
How do I identify the 1806 Halfpenny - George III 4th issue - Pattern?
Check the weight 9.45g and diameter 28mm and the metal (gold plated copper) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
In 1806 Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint began a large new issue of copper halfpennies under government contract. As with the pennies, Soho also struck proofs of the halfpenny in several finishes. The Royal Mint Museum holds 1806 proof halfpennies in copper, bronzed copper and copper gilt, and the Ashmolean Museum's Heberden Coin Room received a late Soho gilt example in 2025.
These gilt pieces were never money: both museums record them as proofs, a special striking separate from the currency coins. No count of them is published, unlike the circulating halfpennies, of which Coin Hunter gives 87,993,526 dated 1806.
The dies are those of the currency halfpenny, engraved at Soho by Conrad Heinrich Küchler. The obverse shows a laureate and draped bust of George III facing right with his titles and the date below, and Küchler's K on the truncation. The reverse shows Britannia seated left on a rock among the waves, with trident, olive branch and Union shield, a ship sailing behind, SOHO below the shield and BRITANNIA above.
The Royal Mint Museum's gilt proof weighs 9.5 g with an engrailed edge, and the Ashmolean's weighs 9.35 g, measures 28.1 mm and has a centre-grained edge. Both are struck with the dies aligned medal fashion, unlike the coin-fashion currency halfpennies.
Collecting notes
Check the gilding for wear or later application, and look for a proof strike: sharp detail, clean fields and the medal-fashion alignment of the museum pieces. Peck numbers for the Soho proofs differ between dealers' descriptions, so the attribution of any example should be checked against the reference. The circulating coin is the 1806 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.
- George III proof halfpenny, 1806, copper gilt (RMM 1117), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Modern coin HCR152609, halfpenny 1806 (late Soho), copper gilt, Heberden Coin Room, Ashmolean Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III, Copper Proof Halfpenny, 1806, by C H Küchler (auction 23006, lot 283), Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III proof halfpenny, 1806, bronzed copper (RMM 1116), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- 1806 Coin Values, George III, Coin Hunter (read 12 Oct 2026)
- The Penny, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
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