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Message:: [QUOTE="robp, post: 5173988, member: 96746"]1745 LIMA halfcrown.[ATTACH=full]1211432[/ATTACH]Coins with LIMA below the bust were struck from silver taken by a small British naval squadron under George Anson, charged with disrupting Spanish possessions on the Pacific coast and capturing as much Spanish bullion as possible. The fleet left in 1740 and initially took £30,000 or so in captured bullion. Due to the condition of the crew which had suffered badly from disease and the loss of most of the fleet, Anson in Centurion made the decision to return home via Macau which was reached in November 1742, where repairs were made and the following April set out to find a Spanish treasure ship. On 20th June he found what he was looking for and attacked the Spanish galleon Neustra Señora de Covadonga off the Philippines. The ship was heavily laden with treasure from Mexico, with the silver alone amounting to 1.3m 8 reales and 35,000 ounces of bullion. Gold and other plunder was also taken. They returned to Macau for further repairs following the battle and finally set off for England in December 1743, arriving in London in June 1744. With so much silver available to be recoined into local currency, it is little wonder that LIMA coins are one of the cheapest ways to obtain an example of George II's silver currency, with sixpences, shillings, halfcrowns and crowns all readily available to this day.[/QUOTE]