British half sovereign coin
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The half sovereign was first introduced in 1544 under Henry VIII. It was a gold coin valued at ten shillings or 120 pre-decimal pennies. After 1604, the issue of half sovereigns, along with sovereigns, was discontinued until 1817 following a major revision of British coinage. Production continued until 1926 and, apart from special issues for coronation years, was not restarted until 1980. It was also used extensively in the British colonies, such as Australia, until 1933.
Modern half sovereigns, from 1817 onwards, have a diameter of 19.30 mm, a weight of 3.99 g, are made of 22 carat (91.666%) gold alloy, and contain 0.1177 troy ounces (3.7 g) of gold. The reverse side, featuring St. George slaying a dragon, was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci, whose initials appear to the right of the date.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Unknown |
Half Pound 1544–1926 |
Succeeded by Ten shilling note |
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| Current | One penny · Two pence · Five pence · Ten pence · Twenty pence · Fifty pence · One pound · Two pounds |
| Commemorative | Twenty-five pence · Five pounds |
| Withdrawn (decimal) | Half penny |
| Withdrawn (pre-decimal) | Farthing · Halfpenny · Penny · Threepence · Sixpence · One shilling · Two shillings · Half crown · Crown · Half sovereign · Sovereign · Guinea |
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