½ Sovereign - William IV small type (1831–1834)

One row for each year the ½ Sovereign - William IV small type 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; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. 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 1831 Half Sovereign - William IV small type

The 1831 Half Sovereign - William IV small type is a circulating ½ sovereign coin issued from 1831 to 1834 in the Half Sovereign series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 3.99g and measures 17.9mm across. Reverse design: Crowned shield of arms and mantle, legend and date below.

It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1891), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Half sovereigns were not issued for circulation under William IV until 1834, though proofs were struck for the 1831 set. Wikipedia's account of the reign says the sixpence and half sovereign were the same size, and a gilded sixpence could be passed as gold, so the half sovereign was made smaller. Clayton gives the reason the same way. Kenyon, writing in 1884, records a Treasury order of 14 April 1835 for a half sovereign of the same weight and type but reduced in size, and notes that the only coins answering that description are dated 1834.

Coin Hunter gives 133,899 for 1834. The smaller coin proved unpopular. Wikipedia, citing Marsh, says Mint ledgers record that 120,000 half sovereigns dated 1834 were recalled because they were too close to the old seven shilling piece, or third guinea, and from 1835 the coin returned to its normal size.

The obverse is William Wyon's bare head of the king, engraved after a bust by Francis Chantrey, with GULIELMUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: around. Jean Baptiste Merlen's reverse shows the royal arms on a crowned, garnished shield, with the arms of Hanover in the centre and ANNO and the date below.

The coin is 17.9 mm across rather than the usual 19.4 mm, with no change to weight or fineness. Wikipedia cites Lobel's suggestion that the size was chosen so that tools and dies for the Maundy fourpence could be used. The Royal Mint Museum's 1831 proof weighs 3.95 g and has a plain edge.

Varieties and errors

The 1831 proof, made for the proof set of that year, is on the same small flan as the 1834 currency coin, according to Clayton. The Royal Mint Museum example is plain-edged and is recorded in the Mint's 1874 and 1906 collection catalogues.

Collecting notes

Measure the coin: about 18 mm separates this type from the full-size 1835 to 1837 half sovereign. With most of the 1834 striking recalled, survivors are fewer than the mintage suggests. Gilded sixpences were the fraud this size change was meant to stop, so weigh any piece offered and check that the reverse shows the shield, not a sixpence reverse.