1658 Half-Crown – Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was not a Monarch but an English military and political leader and later Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. As such his name did appear on coins. The actual monarch was Charles I, whom Cromwell was key in having executed.

Cromwell was an MP but after one year King Charles didn't recall Parliament for nearly 11 years. Eventually the chasm between King and Parliament led to a Civil War. Oliver Cromwell was a talented military leader and won several battles with the Royalists, eventually defeating them and putting the King on trial leading to Charles I being put to death.

Cromwell as Protectorate (1653-1658) was a controversial figure. He deposed the Monarchy yet replaced it with his own ruthless, tyrannical rule. He signed himself 'Oliver P' (P for Protector) as in the style of Monarchs; he was referred to as 'his majesty' and paid himself £100,000 per year, which was a lot of money in the 1650s.

He was offered the Crown for the Monarchy in 1657 to help get stability back to the country, but eventually turned it down. After a short illness in 1658 he died, and his son Richard became Lord Protector but that didn't last long and Richard resigned in 1659. The monarchy was restored in 1660 when Charles II returned from exile. Oliver Cromwell's body (or what they thought was his body) was exhumed and posthumously executed.

Also in this category are 'Commonwealth' coins. These were issued between 1649 and 1660. They had no portraits, instead showing the Cross of St George and the Harp of Ireland. The inscriptions were in English rather than Latin so not as to be seen as associating with the Catholic Church. The Commonwealth coins often carried mint marks: 1649-57 was a Sun, and 1658-1660 was an Anchor. The anchor shows the protectorship was that of Richard Cromwell, Oliver's son.
The half crown was a British coin which was valued at "2/6" (two shilling and sixpence) – 12½ pence in modern currency. It was literally half the value of the Crown.

Half crowns were first issued around 1549 in gold or silver. It was then issued by the majority of Monarchs (plus Oliver Cromwell) all the way through to Elizabeth II. The last standard mintage was in 1967 and the coin was officially demonetised in 1970, one year before full decimalisation. A proof half crown was released in 1970.

The halfcrown was a large coin, from 1816 to it’s final minting having a diameter of 32mm and weight of 14.1g. In pre-decimalised Britain when the Crown was essentially a commemorative coin, the half crown was the largest denomination coin in circulation and had considerable spending power.

Before 1920, half crowns were actual sterling (92.5%) silver. This was reduced to 50% silver and in 1947 no silver at all was used and cupro-nickel became standard.

Half crowns are beautiful coins to collect and due to their long history they are very popular. As pre-1920 coins are 92.5% silver even worn copies will have the intrinsic price of the metal but they are still very affordable to most people.The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.