½ Sovereign - Edward VII (1902–1910)

One row for each year the ½ Sovereign - Edward VII 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 1902 Half Sovereign - Edward VII

The 1902 Half Sovereign - Edward VII is a circulating ½ sovereign coin issued from 1902 to 1910 in the Half Sovereign series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 3.99g and measures 19.2mm across. Reverse design: St. George on horseback slaying the dragon right, date in exergue.

Mintage figures are recorded for 9 years between 1902 and 1910, 33,018,393 coins in all. 1904 is the scarcest date, with 1,717,440 struck.

Common questions

History and design

Gold coins with the new King's portrait were authorised by a proclamation dated 10 December 1901, which came into force on 1 January 1902. The half sovereign, worth ten shillings, was struck every year of the reign from 1902 to 1910 in 22 carat (.9167) gold. Wikipedia notes that sovereigns and half sovereigns circulated in large numbers in the years before the First World War.

Coin Hunter gives London 4,244,457 for 1902 and 33,018,393 across the nine dates, peaking at 5,023,881 in 1910. Wikipedia records that the Australian branch mints at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth also struck the coin, mostly in far smaller numbers. Perth's output was the smallest: 60,030 in 1904, 24,668 in 1908 and 44,022 in 1909.

The obverse is George William de Saulles's bare-headed portrait of the King facing right, signed De S below the neck. The proclamation gave it the shortened legend EDWARDVS VII D G BRITT OMN REX F D IND IMP, the same as the sovereign.

The reverse is Benedetto Pistrucci's St George, armed and on horseback, attacking the dragon with a sword, a broken spear on the ground and the date below. Wikipedia records that during 1904 the reverse was modified to restore Pistrucci's initials and make small changes elsewhere. The edge is milled.

Varieties and errors

Half sovereigns dated 1904 exist with both reverses: the original without Pistrucci's initials, struck at London and Perth, and the modified one, used at all four mints. Matt proofs dated 1902 were made for the coronation proof sets. No other recognised varieties or mint errors are documented.

Collecting notes

Look for the small mint mark on the reverse: S, M or P marks a branch coin, and none means London. Clayton names the Perth coins of 1904, 1908 and 1909 as very scarce. On a 1904 coin, check for Pistrucci's initials to tell which reverse it has.

The half sovereign remains legal tender, according to Wikipedia, but it left everyday use in Britain during the First World War, when paper money replaced gold. The Edward VII sovereign was struck at the same mints, with Ottawa added from 1908.