Halfpenny (Australian) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Halfpenny

Australia
Value	1/480 pound (pre-decimal) 5/12¢ (when decimalised)
Mass	5.67 g
Diameter	25.5 mm
Thickness	1.5 mm
Edge	Plain
Composition	Bronze: 97% Cu,2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn
Years of minting	1911–1964
Obverse
Design	George V GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT: OMN: REX F.D.IND:IMP
Designer	Bertram Mackennal
Design date	1911
Design discontinued	1938
Reverse
Design	ONE HALF PENNY COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Designer	W.H.J. Blakemore
Design date	1911
Design discontinued	1939

The Australian halfpenny coin, often called a ha’penny (say "HAY-penny"), was a small coin used in Australia a long time ago. It was part of the old money system before Australia switched to dollars and cents. This coin was worth half of a penny, or about 1/480th of a pound. It was designed to be just like the British halfpenny, with the same size, weight, and value.

The first halfpenny coins were made in 1911. They stopped being made in 1965, just before Australia changed to the decimal system (dollars and cents) on February 14, 1966. When the change happened, one halfpenny was worth about 0.42 cents.

The front side of the coin (called the obverse) always showed the king or queen of Australia at the time. Three different monarchs appeared on the halfpenny: King George V, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II. All halfpennies made with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II had a picture of a kangaroo on the back.

Australian halfpennies were made in many different places, both in Australia and other countries. In Australia, they were minted in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. Outside Australia, they were made in India (Calcutta and Bombay) and England (London and Birmingham). Each mint had a special mark to show where the coin was made.

History of the Halfpenny

King George V (1911–1936)

After King Edward VII passed away in 1910, George V became the new King. New coins for Australia were then made by the Royal Mint in London starting in 1911. These coins had King George V on the front. This was the first year that bronze halfpennies and pennies were made for Australia.

The King George V Australian halfpennies show him wearing robes and a crown. He is facing left, and you can see his upper body. Many rare and valuable Australian coins feature King George V.

The back of these coins says "ONE HALF PENNY" in the middle. This is surrounded by a circle of small beads. Below the word "PENNY" is a tiny scroll design. Around the outside of the beaded circle, it says "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA" and the year the coin was made.

In 1936, Edward VIII was King for a short time. However, all Australian coins made that year still showed King George V.

King George VI (1938–1952)

George VI became King on December 11, 1936, after his older brother, Edward VIII, stepped down.

In 1937, some test halfpennies were made with a new design on the back: a kangaroo. This new kangaroo design then appeared on all regular halfpennies from 1938 onwards. In 1939, you could find two different types of halfpennies: some with the old "Commonwealth of Australia" design and some with the new kangaroo design.

During 1942 and 1943, Australian halfpennies were made in Melbourne and also in India.

From 1944 to 1951, the Melbourne and Perth Mint made halfpennies. In 1951, the London mint also made some, and they had a special "PL" mark.

In 1952, only the Perth mint made halfpennies. These coins had a small dot after the word "Australia."

Queen Elizabeth II (1953–1964)

From 1953 to 1964, the Perth Mint made almost all of Australia's halfpennies. The only exception was in 1959, when they were made by the Melbourne Mint. In 1953, the Perth Mint put a dot after "Australia" on the coins. But from 1960 to 1964, they placed the dot after the word "halfpenny" instead.

Different Types of Halfpennies

Here's a look at the different designs and features of the Australian halfpenny coins over the years:

Image		Years		Technical details				What's on the coin
Front	Back	From	To	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	What it's made of	Edge	Front design	Back design
		1911	1936	25.4 mm	1.5 mm	5.67 g	Bronze: 97% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn	Plain	King George V Designed by Bertram Mackennal	"ONE HALF PENNY COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA" Designed by W.H.J. Blakemore
		1938	1939	25.5 mm	1.5 mm	5.67 g	Bronze: 97% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn	Plain	King George VI Designed by Thomas Hugh Paget	"ONE HALF PENNY COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA" Designed by W.H.J. Blakemore
		1939	1948	25.5 mm	1.5 mm	5.67 g	Bronze: 97% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn	Plain	King George VI Designed by Thomas Hugh Paget	Kangaroo and Commonwealth Star "AUSTRALIA HALF PENNY" Designed by George Kruger Gray
		1949	1952	25.5 mm	1.5 mm	5.67 g	Bronze: 97% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn	Plain	King George VI Designed by Thomas Hugh Paget	Kangaroo and Commonwealth Star "AUSTRALIA HALF PENNY" Designed by George Kruger Gray
		1953	1955	25.5 mm	1.5 mm	5.67 g	Bronze: 97% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn	Plain	Queen Elizabeth II Designed by Mary Gillick	Kangaroo and Commonwealth Star "AUSTRALIA HALF PENNY" Designed by George Kruger Gray
		1959	1964	25.5 mm	1.5 mm	5.67 g	Bronze: 97% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 0.5% Sn	Plain	Queen Elizabeth II Designed by Mary Gillick	Kangaroo and Commonwealth Star "AUSTRALIA HALF PENNY" Designed by George Kruger Gray
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Where and When Halfpennies Were Made

Over 422 million halfpenny coins were made during their time in circulation! Here's a table showing where and when they were minted, and how many were made each year.

Rare Halfpenny Coins

Some halfpenny coins are very special and rare, making them highly sought after by collectors.

The 1916I Mule Halfpenny

1916I Mule Halfpenny (Obverse 2; Reverse A). NGC graded AU Details BN.

The 1916I Mule halfpenny is Australia's rarest coin that was actually used by people. It looks like a regular 1916 halfpenny on the back, but the front side is actually from an Indian Quarter Anna coin! Only 5 of these coins are known to exist, but experts think there might be 6 to 10 in total.

This strange coin happened during World War I. The Royal Mint in London asked the Calcutta Mint in India to make some Australian coins. This was to avoid German ships sinking coin shipments from Britain to Australia. The 1916 Australian halfpenny and penny were the first non-Indian coins made in Calcutta. The Calcutta Mint was very good at making coins, but somehow, this mistake happened. It's still a mystery exactly how the Indian Quarter Anna front ended up on an Australian halfpenny.

Coin collectors love this coin because it's so rare and has an interesting story. It's a key piece for anyone trying to collect every Australian Commonwealth coin.

The 1923 Halfpenny

1923 Halfpenny (Obverse 1; Reverse A). NGC graded MS 62 BN.

In 1922, the Royal Mint's Sydney Branch made coins like sixpences and halfpennies. They used coin dies (the tools that stamp the coin design) from the Melbourne Mint. In 1923, the Sydney Mint was about to close, so no 1923 dies were sent there. This meant that all the coins made in Sydney that year were accidentally stamped with the date "1922."

Because of this, the Melbourne Mint had to make a lot of halfpennies in July 1923. They made three sets of dies for the 1923 halfpenny. However, all three of these dies broke very early in the process. One was sent back for repairs right away, and the other two cracked soon after they started making coins. This is why the 1923 halfpenny is so rare today.

The 1939 "Roo" Halfpenny

1939 "Roo" Halfpenny. (Obverse 3; Reverse B). NGC graded MS 65 BN

In 1939, halfpenny coins were still being made with the old "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA" design on the back. But later that year, the design changed to a smaller, flipped version of the kangaroo design that was already on the penny coin since 1938.

There were actually two slightly different kangaroo designs used on the new 1939 halfpennies. One came from the original London design, and the other was from the Melbourne Mint. You can tell them apart by looking at the bottom of the letter "Y" in "HALFPENNY." The rarer version has a "double foot" at the bottom of the Y, while the more common one has a "single foot." The Australian Numismatic Dealers Association says the double-foot 1939 halfpenny is "extremely rare" if it's in perfect condition.