From the year in which Cardiff City FC became the first and, to this day, only team outside of England to win the FA Cup and the British Broadcasting Company (as the BBC was originally known) was founded as a public service broadcaster.

The half-crown was issued from 1549 until 1970, making George V one of the last monarchs to feature on a British half-crown coin. Prior to the end of the First World War, the half-crown was made of sterling silver, but in the 1920s the price of silver rose, and the coin went from 92.5% to 50% silver. By 1947, the half-crown would no longer include any silver and the alloy cupro-nickel was used instead.