| United Kingdom | |
| Value | ½ penny sterling |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.78 g |
| Diameter | 17.14 mm |
| Thickness | approx. 1 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Years of minting | 1971–1984 |
| Catalog number | — |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Designer | Arnold Machin |
| Design date | 1971 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Crown From 1971–1981 the inscription read NEW PENNY. |
| Designer | Christopher Ironside |
| Design date | 1971 |
The British decimal half penny (½p) was first issued on 15 February 1971, the day the British currency was decimalised. In practice it had been available from banks in bags for some weeks previously.
The decimal half penny, worth 1.2 pre-decimal pence, enabled the prices of some low-value items to be more accurately translated to the new decimal currency. It also allowed the pre-decimal sixpence to remain in circulation (with a value of 2½ new pence) alongside the new decimal coinage. In the same vein, a decimal quarter-penny coin (to be struck in aluminium) was also proposed (which would have allowed the pre-decimal threepence to continue to circulate with a value of 1.25 new pence), but ended up never being produced.[1]
The half penny coin was minted in bronze. It was the smallest decimal coin by both size and value, weighing 1.78 grams and measuring 17.14 millimetres in diameter. It was nicknamed the "tiddler" on account of its size, and soon became Britain's least favourite coin.[2] The Treasury had continued to argue that the half penny was important in the fight against inflation (preventing prices from being rounded up),[2] but by the early 1980s it was practically worthless. The 1984 half penny was issued only in mint and proof sets by the Royal Mint, and the coin was demonetised and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984.
The reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, was simply a crown, with the fraction "½" below the crown, and either NEW PENNY (1971–1981) or HALF PENNY (1982–1984) above the crown.
During the existence of the coin, only one obverse was used – the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin, with the inscription ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. year.
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