Halfcrown of William III

The Halfcrown of William III is a large milled silver coin worth two shillings and sixpence, or half of a crown. The photographed example is dated 1696 and shows the king's laureate, draped bust facing right on the obverse, with a Latin royal legend, and crowned shields of arms arranged in cruciform on the reverse.

As a milled coin it was struck by machinery rather than by hand, giving it a rounder flan and more uniform strike than the hammered coins that preceded it. The halfcrown was among the higher silver denominations in circulation, sitting below the crown and above the shilling and sixpence.

The 1696 date places this coin firmly within the Great Recoinage of that year, a major national effort to replace the worn and clipped hammered silver then circulating. Halfcrowns of this issue are a familiar and much-studied type among collectors of late seventeenth-century British silver.

William III reigned from 1689 to 1702, ruling jointly with his wife Mary II until her death in 1694 and alone thereafter. The 1696 halfcrown belongs to the sole reign, after Mary's death, when coins bore only William's portrait.

The year 1696 was dominated by the Great Recoinage, a sweeping government operation to withdraw the debased, clipped and worn hammered silver that had undermined confidence in the currency. New milled silver was produced in enormous quantity, and to speed the work temporary branch mints were opened in provincial cities including Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Norwich and York, alongside the Tower Mint in London.

Because so much silver was struck in this single push, halfcrowns dated 1696 survive in reasonable numbers today, though provincial-mint pieces and finer grades are scarcer. The type is a tangible product of one of the most important currency reforms in English monetary history.

The obverse shows William III as a laureate, draped bust facing right, surrounded by a Latin legend naming him king — typically read as GVLIELMVS III DEI GRA (William III, by the grace of God). The right-facing laureate head is the primary diagnostic and distinguishes this coin from the conjoined busts of the earlier William and Mary joint coinage.

The reverse carries four crowned shields of arms arranged in a cross, bearing the arms of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, with the date 1696 in the legend and a small badge at the center of the cross. A mint-mark letter may appear below the bust on the obverse (for example B, C, E, N or Y) indicating a provincial branch mint; London-struck coins carry no such letter.

The coin is a substantial piece of sterling silver, larger than a shilling and smaller than a crown, with a milled or lettered edge as befits a machine-struck issue. The combination of the right-facing laureate bust, the cruciform crowned shields and the 1696 date confirms the type.

As a widely struck product of the 1696 Great Recoinage, the William III halfcrown is one of the more available large silver coins of its era, and worn examples are affordable relative to rarer Stuart silver. Value is driven mainly by grade, eye appeal, the presence and location of a provincial mint mark, and any scarcer die or bust variety.

Heavily circulated London coins sit at the modest end of the market, while sharp, well-preserved pieces and desirable branch-mint issues command significantly more. Clipping, tooling, cleaning or damage — common on coins of this age — reduce value, and an unblemished original surface is prized.

Anyone valuing a specific coin should compare recent auction and dealer records for the matching mint mark and grade, and treat any single figure as broad context rather than a firm price. Because these coins vary so much by condition and variety, examination in hand is important.