What were these used for? If someone passed you a half guinea in a business transaction, would you need a weight to tell you if it was full weight? Perhaps I'm mistaken but I find it hard to believe many 1/2 guineas were spent in a store.
You're right in a sense. Half a guinea (10 shillings and 6 pence) would be a lot to spend.
However, if you went into a store and bought a shirt and a cravat for 2 shillings and 5 pence and offered the storekeeper a half-guinea, he would want to check it was the right weight before accepting it.
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