1905 Half Crown

The stopper of the Edward VII half-crown set — just 166,008 struck, the lowest mintage of its nine-year run.

History

• The 1905 half crown had a mintage of 166,008 — the lowest of the nine Edward VII half-crown dates from 1902 to 1910 (Wikipedia, from the annual Coin Yearbook, accessed 2026-09-16).
• It is the universally recognised key date of the Edward VII half-crown series (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
• It is rated R2 (‘very few’) by Bull in his standard reference on English silver coinage (Wessex Coins, accessed 2026-09-16).
• Both sides were engraved by George William de Saulles — his ‘DES’ initials appear below the truncation of the king’s bare-head bust (Wessex Coins, accessed 2026-09-16).
• The reverse shows the crowned quartered shield of arms with the garter motto HONI. SOIT. QUI. MAL. Y. PENSE, the legend FID: DEF: IND: IMP:, and the denomination and date in the lower half (Wessex Coins, accessed 2026-09-16).
• 1905 falls in the sterling-silver era: British silver coins were .925 fine until the 1920 debasement to 50% silver (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
• The half crown was worth two shillings and sixpence (2/6), was demonetised ahead of other pre-decimal coins on 1 January 1970, and was not issued in the reign of Edward VIII (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).

Specifications

• composition
• designers
• diameter
• edge
• weight

Certified populations: Certification counts: a January 2025 Heritage listing for an NGC MS64 example stated that only a single NGC 64+ existed above it at either NGC or PCGS, and a 2023 listing for a PCGS MS63 reported fewer than five specimens graded higher between the major services (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).

Collector notes

• Most surviving examples are impaired or low grade; high-grade pieces are genuinely rare — a 2023 PCGS MS63 listing reported fewer than five specimens graded higher between the major services (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
• Verify weight (14.14 g) and diameter (32.3 mm); given the premium, buy certified or from established British-coin dealers (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
• Original mint luster in the fields is the dividing line between AU and problem-free XF on this date; hairlined or cleaned examples trade at steep discounts (guidance).
• This is a set-completing coin — demand comes from Edward VII date collectors and British type collectors, so patience usually pays over panic buying (guidance).

Market check

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