Catalog
1/2 Piastre - George V
| Issuer | Cyprus Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1934 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Piastre (1⁄360) |
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| Obverse description | Crowned and draped bust of King George V facing left, modelled by Edgar Bertram MacKennal, wearing the Imperial State Crown and robes of state. The effigy displays fine detail in the crown jewels, ermine trim, and military collar. The Latin legend GEORGIVS V REX IMPERATOR curves along the scalloped border, with the engraver's initials B.M. truncating the bust. The design is set within the distinctive twelve-notch scalloped flan characteristic of Cyprus colonial coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 1934 - - 1,440,000 1934 - Proof - |
| Additional information |
Cyprus came under formal British Crown Colony administration in 1925, having been annexed outright at the start of World War I after the Ottomans allied with Germany. The island's coinage was denominated in piastres — a holdover from Ottoman monetary practice that Britain simply retained rather than replace. By 1934, George V's health was already in serious decline; he would be dead within two years, making this among the final issues to carry his effigy for Cyprus.