| George III Half Crown 1816 & 1817 |
| GEORGE III HALF CROWN 1816-1820 |
| George III Half Crown 1817-1820 |
Courtesy of Chris Perkins
www.predecimal.com
www.predecimal.com
| George III Spanish Oval Countermarked Half Crown |
| There are two different obverses and two different reverses issued for the half crown of the George III reign. Before the introduction of his own half crowns there were a few foreign coins (mostly Spanish 4 reals) which were countermarked with his bust to make them legal tender in Britain. Spanish 4 reals were already readily available and circulating in Britain at this time but there were also many fakes. So the idea was to countermark these coins and make them legal tender. This also let the public know the coins were genuine, until the introduction of officialy issued halfcrowns. The countermarked coins were first issued with an oval countermark, however these later became counterfeited, so a new octagonal countermark was used instead. The 1816 & 1817 first obverse half crown is often referred to as the "bull head" halfcrown. The obverse reverse were designed by Tomas Wyon.The reverse was designed by Thomas Wyon. Later in 1817 the obverse was changed as the king didn't like the first obverse. The second obverse was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci and the second reverse was by Thomas Wyon. 1816 & 1817 Silver, 14.1 grams, 32mm Diameter. 1817-1820 Silver, 14.1 grams, 32mm Diameter. |
| George III Spanish Octagonal Countermarked Half Crown |
| Courtesy of Rob Pearce www.rpcoins.co.uk |
| Courtesy of CNG www.cngcoins.com |
GEORGE VI