Dutch half-sovereign (4)
I believe the answer is:
mary
'dutch' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how they can define each other.
'half-sovereign' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'sovereign' could be 'r' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'r' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'may' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mary that I've seen before include "could be Wesley" , "Person venerated by Christians" , "feature of 21/23 [NATIVITY SCENE]" , "a religious icon" , "Disney film with Julie Andrews" .)