Great Britain. ½ Sovereign, 1855. S.3859; Fr-389b; KM-735.1. Weight 0.1177 ounce. Victoria. Young head. Reverse ; Crowned shield. PCGS graded AU-58. In special PCGS Ship of Gold holder which contains One Pinch of Gold Dust recovered from the S.S. Central America treasure.
Special PCGS number 676900.58/35671944. Estimated Value $500 - UP
In 1855 it became clear to Great Britain and her French and Ottoman allies that the ongoing Crimean War (1853-1856) would soon conclude with victory over the Russians. Nevertheless, by this time the war, which had been badly mismanaged in 1854, was becoming increasingly unpopular. On 9 January 1855, the coalition government of George Hamilton-Gordon, collapsed in a non-confidence vote and resulted in his resignation as Prime Minister on 5 February. Nevertheless, the end of the conflict was actually slowly drawing nearer.

The British and French had been besieging the Russian garrison in Sevastopol since 17 October 1854, but by late summer of 1855 they were finally poised to take the city thanks to the completion of a new rail line that brought supplies and munitions to the siege works from Balaclava. On 5 September, British and French ships began the bombardment of Sevastopol with 307 guns causing the Russian garrison to suffer 2-3,000 casualties per day. At last, on 8 September, the Anglo-French forces made their final assault on the city. Although the British failed to take the defensive position known as the Great Redan, the French success against the Malakoff redoubt compelled the Russians to abandon Sevastopol and begin to consider peace terms. In the aftermath of the costly allied victory, Russian cannon captured by the British were sent home to Great Britain for prominent display in many towns. It was suggested that the Victoria Cross, a British military medal for bravery instituted in the following year, should be made from bronze taken from the cannon seized at Sevastopol, but modern metallurgical testing has shown that this suggestion was not followed.