Victoria, Halfcrown (Old Head) Fine

In 1887 Queen Victoria finally allowed her portrait on the coinage to be changed. It was 50 years that she kept her Young Head portrait on the coins. The Halfcrown or Two Shillings and Sixpence was perhaps the most used large silver coin at the time. Because of course, a Halfcrown was a lot of money then. You have the Queen on the obverse with that silly little crown placed on her head. She hated it because it looked like a toy rather than the real thing. The reverse has a crowned coat of arms within a garter of roses. These Halfcrowns are struck in Sterling Silver and we have them in two grades. Dates will be of our choice, but they were only made from 1887-1892.

Our friends at Lighthouse have designed a glove especially for handling coins. In between the ridges and valleys of your fingerprints there are acids. If these come into contact with the surface of the coins, this can leave your fingerprint indelibly etched into the surface of the coin. The real problem is that it can take years for this ‘fingerprint’ to appear. They have designed lightweight cotton gloves that are easy to wear and still protect your coins from damage due to handling.

During the short reign of King George IV this Sterling Silver Crown or Five Shilling piece was only struck for two years 1821 and 1822. You have the portrait of King George IV on the obverse with St. George and the dragon on the reverse. There was another design crown issued in 1826 but that is very rare. This is a rather handsome and, we believe, underappreciated coin and one that over the past few years has been harder and harder to get. In fact, the few coins that we can offer you have taken us two years to put together. The coins on offer are in Fine condition. They are struck in Sterling Silver and were only struck for two years.