Half crown ( British coin ) - wikipedia Half crown ( British coin ) Half one crown United Kingdom Value ​ ⁄ pound sterling Mass ( 1816 -- 1970 ) 14.14 g Diameter ( 1816 -- 1970 ) 32.31 mm Edge Milled Composition ( 1816 -- 1919 ) 92.5 % Ag ( 1920 -- 1946 ) 50 % Ag ( 1947 -- 1970 ) Cupronickel Years of minting 1707 -- 1970 Obverse Design Profile of the monarch ( Elizabeth II design shown ) Designer Mary Gillick Design date 1953 Reverse Design Various ( crowned Royal Shield shown ) Designer Edgar Fuller and Cecil Thomas Design date 1967 Half crown coin of Oliver Cromwell, 1658 The half crown was a denomination of British money, equivalent to two shillings and sixpence, or one - eighth of a pound. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of Edward VI. No half crowns were issued in the reign of Mary, but from the reign of Elizabeth I half crowns were issued in every reign except Edward VIII, until the coins were discontinued in 1967. The half crown was demonetised ( ahead of other pre-decimal coins ) on 1 January 1970, the year before the United Kingdom adopted decimal currency on Decimal Day. During the English Interregnum of 1649 -- 1660, a republican half crown was issued, bearing the arms of the Commonwealth of England, despite monarchist associations of the coin 's name. When Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of England, half crowns were issued bearing his semi-royal portrait. The half crown did not display its value on the reverse until 1893. Contents 1 History of the half crown by reign 2 Size and weight 3 Mintages 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History of the half crown by reign This Charles I half crown was struck from a piece of hammered silver plate during one of the Civil War sieges of Newark, Nottinghamshire. King Henry VIII 1526 : the first English half crown was struck in gold. King Edward VI 1551 : issued the first half crown in silver. The coin was dated and showed the king riding a horse. Queen Mary I : the half crown was struck on Mary 's marriage to Philip II of Spain in 1554 but was never issued for circulation. Three specimens exist. http://www.petitioncrown.com/spare15_LK47.html Queen Elizabeth I : gold half crowns were issued again. At the end of the reign silver half crowns were issued. King James I : gold half crowns were issued again. During the reign silver half crowns were issued. King Charles I : silver half crowns were issued, including those struck as obsidional money, money of necessity during the Civil War period. Commonwealth of England : Oliver Cromwell silver half crowns were issued. During the years 1656 and 1658 milled half crowns were issued of Oliver Cromwell. King Charles II 1663 -- 1685 : silver half crowns were issued, and this period saw the end of the hammered issue of half crowns. King James II 1685 -- 1688 : silver half crown. King William III & Queen Mary II 1689 -- 1694 : silver half crown. William III of England 1694 -- 1702 : silver half crown. Queen Anne 1702 -- 1714 : silver half crown. King George I 1714 -- 1727 : silver half crown. King George II 1727 -- 1760 : silver half crown. King George III 1760 -- 1820 : silver half crown. King George IV 1820 -- 1830 : silver half crown. King William IV 1830 -- 1837 : silver half crown. Queen Victoria 1837 -- 1901 : silver half crown. King Edward VII 1902 -- 1910 : silver half crown. King George V 1910 -- 1936 : silver half crown, sterling silver ( 921⁄2 % silver ) until 1919, then 50 % silver. King Edward VIII 1936 : 50 % silver half crown. Not issued for circulation. King George VI 1937 -- 1952 : 50 % silver half crowns were issued until 1946 when the metal was changed to cupro - nickel. Queen Elizabeth II 1952 -- 1970 : the last half crown was issued in 1970 shortly before decimalisation. Size and weight From George III, 1816, they had a diameter of 32 mm and a weight of 14.1 g ( 1⁄2 oz. ), dimensions which remained the same for the half crown until decimalisation in 1971. Mintages The mintage figures below are taken from the annual UK publication COIN YEARBOOK. Proof mintages are indicated in italics. Victoria ( Jubilee ) 1887 1,438,046 1,084 1890 3,228,111 1888 1,428,787 1891 2,284,632 1889 4,811,954 1892 1,710,946 Victoria ( Old Head ) 1893 1,792,600 1,312 1898 1,870,055 1894 1,524,960 1899 2,865,872 1895 1,772,662 1900 4,479,128 1896 2,148,505 1901 1,516,570 1897 1,678,643 Edward VII 1902 1,316,008 15,123 1907 3,693,930 1903 274,840 1908 1,758,889 1904 709,652 1909 3,051,592 1905 166,008 1910 2,557,685 1906 2,886,206 George V 1911 2,914,573 6,007 1924 5,866,294 1912 4,700,789 1925 1,413,461 1913 4,090,169 1926 4,473,516 1914 18,333,003 1927 6,837,872 15,000 1915 32,433,066 1928 18,762,727 1916 29,530,020 1929 17,632,636 1917 11,172,052 1930 809,051 1918 29,079,592 1931 11,264,468 1919 10,266,737 1932 4,793,643 1920 17,982,077 1933 10,311,494 1921 23,677,889 1934 2,422,399 1922 16,396,724 1935 7,022,216 1923 26,308,526 1936 7,039,423 George VI 1937 9,106,440 26,402 1945 19,849,242 1938 6,426,478 1946 22,724,873 1939 15,478,635 1947 21,911,484 1940 17,948,439 1948 71,164,703 1941 15,773,984 1949 28,272,512 1942 31,220,090 1950 28,335,500 17,513 1943 15,462,875 1951 9,003,520 20,000 1944 15,255,165 1952 1 Elizabeth II 1953 4,333,214 40,000 1961 25,887,897 1954 11,614,953 1962 24,013,312 1955 23,628,726 1963 17,625,200 1956 33,934,909 1964 5,973,600 1957 34,200,563 1965 9,778,440 1958 15,745,668 1966 13,375,200 1959 9,028,844 1967 33,058,400 1960 19,929,191 1970 750,000 Gallery The reverse of the 1905, Edward VII, half crown. The obverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown. The reverse of the 1953, Elizabeth II, half crown. See also Half crown ( Irish coin ) References Jump up ^ Tony Clayton. `` Coins of the UK - Thirty Pence ''. coins-of-the-uk.co.uk. Jump up ^ `` Coin, Banknote and Medal Collector 's Magazines. Token Publishing Numismatic Interest ''. tokenpublishing.com. Jump up ^ `` Welcome to Colin Cooke Coins - Numismatics, Coins, Rarities - 1952 Halfcrown ''. colincooke.com. External links ( 1 ) - View coins from the Commonwealth of England period, 1649 -- 1660, including halfcrowns. British Coins - Free information about British coins ( from 1656 to 1952 ). Includes an online forum. Coins of the UK - A full history of the half crown. ( 2 ) - Publishers of COIN YEARBOOK ( mintage figure source ) The History of the Half - crown hide British coinage Decimal 1 / 2p 1p 2p 5p 10p 20p 50p £ 1 £ 2 Pre-decimal Quarter farthing ( 1 / 16 d ) Third farthing ( 1 / 12 d ) Half farthing ( 1 / 8d ) Farthing ( 1 / 4d ) Halfpenny ( 1 / 2d ) Penny ( 1d ) Three halfpence ( 1 1 / 2d ) Twopence ( 2d ) Threepence ( 3d ) Fourpence ( 4d ) Sixpence ( 6d ) Shilling ( 1 / - ) Florin ( 2 / - ) Half crown ( 2 / 6d ) Double florin ( 4 / - ) Crown ( 5 / - ) Quarter guinea ( 5 / 3d ) Third guinea ( 7 / - ) Half sovereign ( 10 / - ) Half guinea ( 10 / 6d ) Sovereign ( £ 1 ) Guinea ( £ 1 / 1s ) Double sovereign ( £ 2 ) Two guineas ( £ 2 / 2s ) Five pound ( £ 5 ) Five guineas ( £ 5 / 5s ) Non-circulating Commemorative 25p £ 5 £ 20 £ 50 £ 100 Maundy money Bullion Britannia Quarter sovereign Half sovereign Sovereign Lunar The Queen 's Beasts Landmarks of Britain See also Pound sterling Coins of the pound sterling Banknotes of the pound sterling List of British banknotes and coins List of British currencies Scottish coinage Coins of Ireland List of people on coins of the United Kingdom Coins of England Silver Thrymsa Sceat Styca Penny ( to 1066, 1066 -- 1154, 1154 -- 1485, 1485 -- 1603, 1603 -- 1707 ) Farthing Groat Shilling Threepence Sixpence Three farthings Three halfpence Crown Half crown Gold Gold penny ( 1257 ) Noble ( 1344 ) Florin ( 1344 ) Half Florin ( 1344 ) Quarter Florin ( 1344 ) Angel ( 1465 ) Sovereign ( 1489 ) Crown of the Rose ( 1526 ) Half crown ( 1526 ) Jacobus ( James I ) Rose Ryal ( 1604 ) Spur ryal ( 1604 ) Unite ( 1604 ) Laurel ( 1619 ) Half laurel ( 1619 ) Carolus ( Charles I ) Triple unite ( 1642 ) Fifty shillings ( 1656 ) Broad ( 1656 ) Copper and tin Farthing Coins of England category Types of British coinage Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey St Helena and Ascension United Kingdom Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Half_crown_(British_coin)&oldid=843665896 '' Categories : Pre-decimalisation coins of the United Kingdom Coins of the United Kingdom Coins of Great Britain Coins of England Crown ( currency ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français 日本 語 Edit links This page was last edited on 30 May 2018, at 16 : 54. 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Question: when did the half crown go out of circulation
Answer: 1967