½ Penny - George IV (1825–1827)

One row for each year the ½ Penny - George IV 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 1825 Halfpenny - George IV

The 1825 Halfpenny - George IV is a circulating ½ penny coin issued from 1825 to 1827, struck in copper. It weighs 9.45g and measures 28mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, legend around and national flower emblems in exergue.

Mintage figures are recorded for 3 years between 1825 and 1827, 14,623,000 coins in all. 1825 is the scarcest date, with 215,000 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1869), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The last halfpence before George IV's were Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint coins of 1806 and 1807, and the Great Recoinage from 1816 gave priority to gold and silver, so no further George III halfpence were made. Tony Clayton records that the new coins were issued after 14 November 1825. They were smaller again than the Soho coins, at 28 mm and about 9.3 g, and those dimensions held until the change to bronze in 1860.

There is a single type, dated 1825, 1826 and 1827. Coin Hunter gives 215,040 for 1825, 9,031,630 for 1826 and 5,376,000 for 1827, and Coinvarieties' rounded figures agree. The 1825 date was made in less than a twentieth of the 1826 quantity, which is why Coinvarieties calls it the scarcest of the three.

The obverse carries William Wyon's bare head of the king facing left with GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA and the date below. The Royal Mint Museum notes that Wyon's George IV portraits were engraved from busts by the sculptor Francis Chantrey.

The reverse shows Britannia seated right, holding a trident and a shield bearing the Union flag, with BRITANNIAR: REX FID: DEF: around. There is no mark of value: the denomination was first named on the bronze coins of 1860. The Royal Mint Museum records Wyon as designer of both sides and lists its examples with a plain edge, the two sides the same way up.

Varieties and errors

Clayton records a scarce 1826 die with one raised line down each arm of St Patrick's saltire on the shield, in place of the usual two incuse lines. Coinvarieties also notes an 1826 over 5 overdate.

Collecting notes

Look at the saltire on the shield of any 1826 coin to identify the variety. The 1825 is the date to check carefully, given its small mintage. Wear shows first on the hair and on the lines of the shield.

Proofs were made in 1826, and the Royal Mint Museum holds one. The companion George IV penny has the same design on a larger flan.