A former British gold coin worth ten shillings (50p).As the patrolmen came up, he handed a half-sovereign to Inkerman....
All coins bore the head of Queen Victoria - a gold sovereign, half-sovereign, half-crown, shilling, sixpence and a threepenny piece.
What he will particularly be on the lookout for is good condition ‘higher denomination’ coins, such as half crown, crown, half-sovereign and sovereign, from the Victorian period and earlier.