The 1696 Half Crown - William IIIThe Reverse is crowned cruciform shields around a central lion.
There are several variations of this coin and it was also minted at several local mints, such as Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Norwich and York. The mint letter is below the neck (and is quite large).
Proofs are very rare.
The Obverse shows a laureate and draped bust of King William III.On the coin William III is written in Latin form as Gulielmus III.
The edge shows the regnal year in latin words, and maybe some other text.
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Mintage: Not known
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Remember 1696 ?
Monarch is King William III. The Great Recoinage of 1696: The Parliament of England passes the Recoinage Act which was an attempt by the English Government to replace the hammered silver that made up most of the coinage in circulation, much of it being clipped and badly worn. It was not entirely successful. Shortage of silver coinage forces the guinea to be officially revalued at 21 shillings, instead of 30 shillings. Window tax introduced.
William III (1694-1702)
William III, also widely known as William of Orange, was sovereign Prince of Orange from birth. He was born in Binnenhof, South Holland, Netherlands.William III was King of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702, co-reigning with his wife, Queen Mary II (m. 1677–1694, her death). He was also know as King Billy.
The regnal years for William III coins were:
1699:UNDECIMO; 1700:DVODECIMO; 1701:DECIMO TERTIO.
On coins, William is usually spelled as latin: Gulielmus III.
Category: Half-Crowns
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.
Which Mint: The Royal Mint
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.
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
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.
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| 1696 William III Half Crown £ 135.00 |
| 1696 half crown silver William III £ 45.00 |
| WILLIAM III 1696 HALFCROWN - CONTEMPORARY FORGERY £ 90.00 |
| 1696 KING WILLIAM III HALFCROWN - First Bust, Large Shields - OCTAVIO £ 140.00 |
 | 1696 B KING WILLIAM III HALFCROWN - BRISTOL MINT - SCARCE £ 79.00 |
 | 1696 William III Half Crown engraved A W as love token £ 60.00 |
 | HMS ASSOCIATION SHIPWRECK TREASURE WILLIAM III 1696 C CHESTER HALFCROWN COA BOX £ 399.99 |
 | 1696 B GREAT BRITAIN 1/2 CROWN 1ST BUST OF WILLIAM III £ 351.15 |
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