1/2 Crown

1745, Great Britain, George II. Beautiful Silver ½ Crown "LIMA" Coin. NGC AU-53!

Mint Year: 1745
Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as AU-53!
Denomination: ½ Crown - Lima issue, Struck from silver seized from spanish treasure fleet!)
Reference: ESC 606, S. 3695A, KM-584.3 ($850 in XF!). Very rare as a problem-free specimen!
Diameter: 33.3mm
Weight: 14.79gm
Material: Silver

Obverse: Old laureate and draped bust with inscription (LIMA) below.
Legend: GEORGIUS II DEI GRATIA
Translated: "George II by the Grace of God."

Reverse: Crowned cruciform shields, Order of the Garter star in center.
Legend: M B F ET - H . REX . F D B - ET L D S R I - A T ET E . 17 - 45 .

For your consideration a a beautiful halfcrown coin and a reminder of the sea battle in which Lord Anson captured tons of Spanish silver off the Philippines, heading towards Spain from the silver mines of Peru. The British, ever eager to thumb their proverbial and real noses at enemies, hallmarked the captured silver turned into coins by putting the word "LIMA" for the Peruvian mines near that city from which the Spanish had extracted the ore. A vere rare, attractive and historically important issue!

Baron George Anson (23 April 1697 – 6 June 1762) was a British commodore and a wealthy noble. Following Anson’s aristocratic upbringing on the family estate of Shugborough in Sataffordshire, he joined the British Navy. Anson went through a series of rapid promotions and, in 1737, was given command of a fleet of six ships charged with the mission of attacking Spanish possessions in South America. This mission was ill-equipped and unprepared for the trials ahead. Storms and navigational errors took a heavy toll on the expedition. By the time Anson reached the island of Juan Fernandez his fleet had been diminished to only three ships and his crew reduced to roughly 1/3 of its original strength. Nonetheless, Anson’s persistence eventually led to the capture of an immensely rich price, the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Senora de Covadonga. The galleon, taken off of Cape Espiritu Santo in 1743 was loaded with 1,313,843 pieces of eight. Upon his return to England Anson was hailed as a national hero and made immensely wealthy by his share of the Nuestra’s treasure. Anson retired from the Navy for a career in politics and was a Member of Parliament from 1744 to 1747. Anson subsequently continued his naval career with distinction as an administrator, becoming First Lord of the Admiralty (1757–1762). Seven British warships have borne the name HMS Anson in his honor. Anson County, North Carolina, and Ansonborough in Charleston, South Carolina, are also named in Anson's honor.