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1/2 Crown - George VI
| Issuer | Southern Rhodesia (1932-1955) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944-1946 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 14.14 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR PM |
| Reverse description | Central crowned quartered shield of arms for Southern Rhodesia, displaying a pick axe and wavy lines in the lower quarters, supported by a Tudor crown above. The royal cypher 'G VI R I' flanks the shield on either side. The legend 'SOUTHERN RHODESIA' arcs across the upper periphery with the date divided on either side of the crown, while the denomination 'HALF CROWN' appears in the lower field, all engraved by George Kruger Gray. |
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| Additional information |
Southern Rhodesia's wartime silver issues were quietly debased from .925 to .500 fineness in 1944, a change driven not by fiscal crisis but by the global silver shortage created when the United States began hoarding the metal for industrial war production under the Silver Purchase Act. The colony was not alone — virtually every sterling-area territory made the same reduction that year.
KM#15a distinguishes the debased type from its predecessor. The shift is invisible to casual inspection but immediately apparent on a scale.