50 Cents - Charles Brooke Rajah

Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, inherited the territory from his uncle James Brooke in 1868 and governed it as a personal domain — not a British colony — for over fifty years. Sarawak's coinage was issued on his own authority, distinct from any Crown mint directive. The .800 silver standard used here was lower than the contemporary British sterling specification, a deliberate economic choice that kept bullion costs manageable for a small independent state reliant on antimony and pepper revenues.

Production of this type was contracted through the Birmingham Mint at Heaton.