Queen Anne, 1707 Half Crown, E (Post Union)

A silver Halfcrown of Queen Anne, dated 1707 from the post-Union period. The obverse features the second draped bust of the queen, facing left. The reverse shows the crowned shields of arms representing Scotland and England combined in two quarters with the arms of France and Ireland in the others. The angles between the shields are plain. The combined Scottish and English arms to the reverse were introduced when the Treaty of Union came into effect in May 1707, uniting the legislatures of the two nations. Though the states had been ruled by the same monarch since 1603, they had retained separate parliaments which were united in the Parliament of Great Britain. (VF)