Halfpenny (British decimal coin)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the pre-decimal halfpenny coin, see Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin).
Halfpenny
United Kingdom
Value£0.005
Mass1.78 g
Diameter17.14 mm
Thickness1 mm
Edgeplain
Composition
Queen Elizabeth II
DesignerArnold Machin
Design date1971
Reverse
DesignSt Edward's Crown
DesignerChristopher Ironside
Design date1971

The

sterling coinage introduced in February 1971, at the time of decimalisation, and was worth 1⁄200 of one pound. It was ignored in banking transactions, which were carried out in units of 1p
.

The decimal halfpenny had the same value as 1.2 pre-decimal pence, and was introduced to enable the prices of some low-value items to be more accurately translated to the new decimal currency. 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

reverse featured an image of St Edward's Crown
. It was minted in bronze (like the 1p and 2p coins). It was the smallest decimal coin in both size and value, the size being in proportion to 1p and 2p coins.

The halfpenny soon became Britain's least favourite coin.

demonetised and withdrawn from circulation in December 1984.[1]

Design

The reverse of the coin, designed by

D.G.REG.F.D. 19xx,[2]
where 19xx was the year of minting. Both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a common feature on coins known as beading.

As on all decimal coins produced before 1984, the portrait of

'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara
.

Status

The half penny coin was legal tender for amounts not exceeding 20 pence.[4][5][6] A shopkeeper, for example, was not under any obligation to accept half penny coins for payment; conversely, they had the right to accept payment in just half penny coins if they so wished.[7]

Mintages

Number of decimal halfpenny coins minted for circulation by year[8][9]
Year Number minted
1971 1,394,188,251
1972 In proof sets only
1973 365,680,000
1974 365,448,000
1975 197,600,000
1976 412,172,000
1977 66,368,000
1978 59,532,000
1979 219,132,000
1980 202,788,000
1981 46,748,000
1982 190,752,000
1983 7,600,000
1984 In proof and uncirculated sets only

Mint sets have been produced since 1982; where mintages on or after that date indicate 'none', there are examples contained within those sets.

Proposed quarter penny coin

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+1⁄4 new pence), but was never produced.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c 1984: Halfpenny coin to meet its maker, BBC News
  2. ^ Clayton, Tony. "Decimal Coins of the UK - Halfpenny". Retrieved 2006-05-24.
  3. ^ "1p Coin". British Royal Mint. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
  4. ^ "Coinage Act 1971: Section 2", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1971 c. 24 (s. 2)
  5. ^ "What are the legal tender amounts acceptable for UK coins? | The Royal Mint". www.royalmint.com. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  6. ^ November 2015, Masood Ahmed. "Defence of tender before claim". Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 2019-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "What is legal tender?". www.bankofengland.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  8. ISBN 978-1440229626
    .
  9. ^ "Mintage Figures: United Kingdom Decimal Coins issued into general circulation up to 31 December 2012". www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  10. ^ Tony Clayton. "The Change to Decimal Coinage". Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  11. ^ "Royal Mint - Elizabeth II Uniface pattern Quarter decimal pence. Type II". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-15.

External links

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