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The British pre-decimal halfpenny (pronounced / ˈ h eɪ p ən i /), once abbreviated ob. (from the Latin 'obulus'), [1] is a discontinued denomination of sterling coinage worth 1 / 480 of one pound, 1 / 24 of one shilling, or 1 / 2 of one penny. Originally the halfpenny was minted in copper, but after 1860 it was minted ...
Value Notes Half penny 1 / 2 p Sometimes written "ha'penny" (pronounced / ˈ h eɪ p n i / HAYP-nee), but normally called a "half-pee"; demonetised and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984. One penny: 1p Two pence: 2p Five pence: 5p A direct replacement for the shilling. The coin was reduced in size in 1990. Six pence: 6p
The possibility of setting prices including an odd half penny also made it more practical to retain the pre-decimal sixpence in circulation (with a value of 2 + 1 / 2 new pence) alongside the new decimal coinage. The halfpenny coin's obverse featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II; the reverse featured an image of St Edward's Crown ...
2. 1944-S Steel Wheat Penny — $1.1 million This penny somehow missed the 1944 transition from steel-coated zinc to copper, and it’s worth a fortune as a result. Just two copies of the San ...
The weight of the English penny was fixed at 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 troy grains (about 1.46 grams) by Offa of Mercia, an 8th-century contemporary of Charlemagne; 240 pennies weighed 5,400 grains or a tower pound (different from the troy pound of 5,760 grains). The silver penny was the only coin minted for 500 years, from c. 780 to 1280.
It was finally abandoned in 1969 as part of the process of decimalising the British currency. "Halfpenny", colloquially written ha'penny, was pronounced / ˈ h eɪ p ən i / HAY-pə-nee; "1 ½d" was spoken as a penny ha'penny / ə ˈ p ɛ n i ˈ h eɪ p n i / or three ha'pence / θ r iː ˈ h eɪ p ən s /. [1]
One 1954 penny was struck, for internal Mint purposes. By 1961, new pennies were needed again for circulation, and they were produced in large numbers. The officials who planned to introduce decimalisation in the 1960s did not favour keeping the large bronze penny, the value of which had been eroded by inflation.
Until decimalisation crowns (five shilling coins) were used for this purpose as they were the highest denomination of the time, but due to inflation this role has been transferred to higher value coins. Crowns, £5 coins and (until 1996) £2 coins are non-circulating, although they are still legal tender. These denominations are only used for ...