half crown
Definition
Noun: 1. A former British coin: A silver (and later cupronickel) coin of Great Britain and later the United Kingdom, minted from the 16th century until its demonetization in 1970. It was worth two shillings and sixpence, or one-eighth of a pound sterling.
Usage
The term "half crown" refers specifically to the coin itself as a unit of currency. It is used in historical or numismatic contexts. * In a monetary transaction (historical): The fare was two half crowns. * Referring to the physical object: He found an old half crown from 1927 in the drawer. * Indicating an amount: The book cost half a crown. (Note: "half a crown" is the common phrasing for the amount, while "half crown" is the name of the coin.)
Advanced Usage
- "Half a crown": This is the standard phrase for expressing the monetary amount of two shillings and sixpence. While "half crown" is the name of the coin, the value was almost always expressed as "half a crown".
- I bought it for half a crown.
- The half crown was demonetized on January 1, 1970, following the decimalization of British currency.
Variants and Related Words
- Crown: The larger coin worth five shillings (one quarter of a pound), of which the half crown was half.
- Florin: A coin worth two shillings (one tenth of a pound).
- Two shillings and sixpence: The explicit description of the coin's value, often abbreviated as 2/6 or 2s 6d.
Synonyms
- Two and six (informal, based on its value: two shillings and sixpence).
- Half a dollar (historical, informal slang, from the era when a US dollar was roughly equivalent to four shillings).
Related Idioms
- Not have two halfpennies to rub together: To be very poor. (While not containing "half crown," this idiom is from the same pre-decimal British monetary system).
- The half crown itself does not feature prominently in common modern idioms, as it is no longer in circulation.
Noun
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an English coin worth half a crown
