George III Halfcrowns

Obverse of 1817 George III Halfcrown - Large Bust, aVF

Reverse of 1817 George III Halfcrown- Large Bust, aVF

Obverse of 1817 George III Halfcrown - Second Reverse, aVF

Reverse of 1817 George III Halfcrown - Second Reverse, aVF

George III Last Coinage
The last few years of George III's reign saw a complete revision of the British coinage. For some two or three decades, there had been a shortage of small change, and only sporadic production of many denominations.
In 1816, the Royal Mint was moved from the Tower of London to a new site nearby on Tower Hill, where it remained until shortly before decimalisation in 1971. New steam powered coinage presses were introduced, these had been pioneered by Matthew Boulton and James Watt at their Soho, Birmingham works, and were capable of producing higher quality coins more efficiently than the previous presses, which were largely hand operated.

First Type Large Bull Head with Crowned Garter & Shield
Issued 1816 to 1817
Obverse:
Large laureate "bull" head facing right.
Reverse:
A crowned shield with a garter which bears the inscription "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE". The shield is quartered with a central crowned shield shaped inescutcheon. The garter is enclosed by a decorative border.
Below is a small St. George and dragon.

Second Type Smaller Head with Crowned Garter & Shield
Issued 1817 to 1820
Obverse:
Smaller laureate head of George III facing right, with larger lettering.
Reverse:
A larger shield within a garter which bears the inscription "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE", with a plainer crown. The shield is quartered with a central crowned shield shaped inescutcheon, larger than the first type with a larger, plainer crown. The garter is not enclosed by a decorative border.
There is no St. George and dragon, which is replaced by a buckle of the garter, and the legend lettering is larger.

The obverse inscription on both types reads:
GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA
The reverse legends read:
BRITANNIARUM REX FID DEF

Edge
The edge of both types is milled:

Price & Availability

Date	Description	Spink #	Grade	Availability	Price £
1817	Large Bust	3788	Yes	aVF	£85
1817	Small Bust	3789	Yes	EF/aUnc	£525

Order Form - UK
Order Form - USA
Order Form - EU
Order Form - Rest of World

Coins Wanted
We make an active market in almost all world coins, including George III halfcrowns. If you have any of these coins to sell, please contact us, or post them to us for appraisal and offer.

If you want to find the value of a coin you own, please take a look at our page I've Found An Old Coin, What's It Worth?