Catalog
1/2 Cent - Edward VII
| Issuer | Royal Mint (for East Africa and Uganda Protectorates) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908 |
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| Composition | Copper-Nickel |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | EDWARD VII KING & EMPEROR HALF CENT |
| Reverse description | The reverse centres on the round perforation, encircled by a stylised decorative motif depicting two curved elephant tusks arranged symmetrically around the hole, their tips pointing upward and overlapping in a graceful arc. The fraction 1/2 is struck above the central hole within the tusk design. The circular legend EAST AFRICA & UGANDA PROTECTORATES runs along the upper periphery, while the date 1908, flanked by two raised dots, appears at the bottom of the coin. A toothed rim borders the entire design. |
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| Additional information |
The East Africa and Uganda Protectorates shared a combined currency administration in 1908 partly to rationalize the chaos of competing trade currencies — rupees, pice, and various imported coinages — that had complicated commerce since the British East Africa Company's early concession period. The half cent sat at the absolute bottom of this decimal-adjacent system, a denomination so small it had almost no purchasing analogue in local markets.
Production was assigned to the Royal Mint in London rather than a contract mint, unusual for low-denomination colonial copper-nickel issues of this period.