Every day people ask us for coins which do not exist, including 1973 half sovereigns.
Half sovereigns were not issued in every year, and this is one date for which none were issued.
No full sovereigns were minted in 1973 either, Krugerrands were not introduced until 1967, indeed very few countries issued any gold coins in 1973, however we can suggest some alternatives.
We can often supply Chile 100 Pesos from stock.

Why Not?
This is often the next question we get asked. It would be better to ask the Royal Mint, but we can tell you that coins are only produced when they are needed. The last date of half sovereign struck by the Royal Mint for circulation was 1915, although some of the branch mints continued striking them until 1926.
It was not until 1982 that the Royal Mint started to strike and issue half sovereigns again to supply demand for bullion coins. It now seems likely that half sovereigns will continue to be issued yearly.

Proof Half Sovereigns
Since 1980, the Royal Mint has issued half sovereigns in proof grade, for sale to collectors. Proofs are coins which are specially struck with a very high standard of finish. These are only issued in limited quantities, and are more expensive than ordinary bullion or circulation type coins. Obviously this is of no interest if you are looking for a 1973 half sovereign.

Alternative World Gold Coins

Country	Denomination	Diameter	Weight	Alloy	AGW	Cat
Bahamas	$200	28.5	10.9200	.9166	0.3219	$225
Bahamas	$150	24	8.1900	.9166	0.2414	$150
Bahamas	$100	27.5	14.5400	.750	0.3506	$180
Bahamas	$100	27.5	14.5400	.585	0.2735	$145
Bahamas	$50	29.5	15.6448	.500	0.2515	$100
Bahamas	$50	22	7.2700	.750	0.1753	$100
Bahamas	$50	22	7.2700	.585	0.1367	$85
Bahamas	$20	19.5	2.900	.750	0.0699	$50
Bahamas	$20	19.5	2.900	.585	0.0545	$50
Bahamas	$10	15	1.4500	.750	0.0349	$40
Bahamas	$10	15	1.4500	.585	0.0349	$40
Chile	100 Pesos	32	20.3397	.9000	.5886	$250
Colombia	2,000 Pesos	26	12.9000	.9000	.3733	$200
Colombia	1,500 Pesos	24	8.6000	.9000	.2488	$140
Colombia	1,000 Pesos	20	4.3000	.9000	.1244	$60
Egypt	5 Pounds	36	42.5000	.8750	1.1957	$400
Egypt	1 Pound	23	8.5000	.8750	0.2391	$150
Ghana	2 Pounds	29	15.9800	.9166	0.4711	$250
Haiti	1,000 Gourdes	32	14.5600	.9000	0.4213	$300
Haiti	500 Gourdes	24	7.2800	.9000	0.2106	$125
Haiti	200 Gourdes	17.5	2.9100	.9000	0.8420	$60
Haiti	100 Gourdes	14	1.4500	.9000	0.0419	$40
Isle of Man	5 Pounds	36	39.9500	.9166	1.2588	$500
Isle of Man	2 Pounds	29	15.9253	.9166	0.4695	$200
Isle of Man	Sovereign	22	7.9881	.9166	0.2355	$100
Isle of Man	Half Sovereign	19	3.98131	.9166	0.1173	$50
Isle of Man	Gold 4 Coin Proof & Mint Sets		67.6827	.9166	1.9947	$
Israel	200 Lirot	32	27.0000	.900	0.7813	$375
Israel	100 Lirot	26.5	13.5000	.900	0.3906	$200
Israel	50 Lirot	22	7.0000	.9000	0.2025	$150
Malta	£50	28	15.0000	.9166	0.4418	$200
Malta	£20	22	6.0000	.9166	0.1767	$80
Malta	£10	19	3.0000	.9166	0.0883	$40
Nepal	1 Rupee	27				$300
Nepal	Half Rupee					$150
Nepal	Quarter Rupee					$300
Paraguay	4500 Guaranies	40	31.9000	.9000	0.9231	$500
Paraguay	3000 Guaranies	33	21.3000	.9000	0.6164	$350
Paraguay	1500 Guaranies		10.7000	.9000	0.3096	$175
South Africa	One Ounce Krugerrand	32.7	33.93	.9166	1.00	Bullion
South Africa	2 Rand	22.05	7.9881	.9166	0.2354	$95
South Africa	1 Rand	19.30	3.9940	.9166	0.1177	$50

Key
Denomination = Face value
Diameter = Approximate Diameter in millimetres.
Weight = Weight in grams.
Alloy = Fineness of gold.
AGW = Actual fine gold weight in troy ounces.
Cat = Catalogue Value in US Dollars.
Bullion = Bullion Value plus a small percentage premium.

Year of the Ox
The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on a 12 year cycle, each year in the cycle is associated with a different animal.
The Perth Mint in Australia produces a series of Chinese Lunar Calendar coins, in gold and silver, starting in 1996. We do occasionally manage to buy some of the older years, although they do tend to be quite hard to source.
1973 is the Chinese lunar calendar "year of the ox". If you can't see any 1973 gold coin you like, you may wish to look at our 1997 Year of the Ox page.

Other Dates of Half Sovereign
If you wish to check any other dates of half sovereign, take a look at our Half Sovereigns - Which Dates Exist? page.