This article follows on from last months article about the penny. I felt it fitting to go back to Australia's smallest value pre-decimal coins as, like the penny, there is a large selection of coins at a reasonable price.
The halfpenny, although having a history
of its’ own, does not hold the same glamour of its’ big brother, the penny. The
origins of the halfpenny date back to medieval England. Until recently, it was
thought the first half pennies were minted around 1272. Halfpennies have now
been found that indicate they may have been minted as early as 1100. As these
early coins are so rare it is thought that halfpennies minted prior to 1272 may
only be pattern or trial coins, but there is evidence small number reached
general circulation.
The first halfpennies developed from the penny. There were termed as cut coins as they were made by breaking a penny coin in half along the deeply indented cross on the reverse of the coin. King Edward I of England was responsible for the first general circulation halfpennies around 1272. Like all coins of this era, they were made of silver and as the face value of the coin was based on the amount of silver in it, it weighed half the weight of a penny. Because England lacked smaller coinage than the penny, the introduction of the half penny had an immediate impact by increasing trade.
The British halfpenny saw many transformations over the years until it was replaced by the new half penny in 1969. Over the years coins were made from silver, copper, bronze and even a bimetal copper/tin coin.
As Australia was a colony of England, the British halfpenny formed part of our circulation currency until the Australian halfpenny was produced in 1911. Slightly larger than a 10 cent piece, the first Australian halfpenny was produced in London in 1911. Like the penny, the first halfpenny depicted the newly crowned George V on the obverse. The reverse shows two concentric circles, with the words ‘Commonwealth of Australia’ and the year of mintage in the outside circle. The inner circle shows ‘one half penny’ sitting above a scroll.
Between 1911 and 1918 halfpennies were minted in England and India. It was not till 1919 that the first Australian minted halfpennies were minted in Sydney.
The first major change to the halfpenny occurred in 1938 where the monarch on the reverse changed with the death of George V and the abdication of Edward VIII, to George VI in 1938. The change to the kangaroo reverse occurred late in 1939 with most coins that year being old style coins. This makes the 1939 kangaroo type coins rarer than most halfpennies. 1953 saw the last major change to the halfpenny when the effigy of Elizabeth II replaced George VI.
The rarest halfpenny is the 1923 coin.
Although well over a million halfpennies were produced in 1923, the Sydney mint
used 1922 dies to produce the coins. The Melbourne Mint was tasked in 1923 to
produce close to 500,000 coins and it is believed they made three sets of 1923
dies to produce these coins. One set of dies were not used, possibly because
they were faulty, so two dies were used to produce all 1923 coins. It is
believed the dies failed early in production so only around 15000 coins were
made. Poor quality 1923 coins regularly fetch $1000.
Although the halfpenny does not have the glamour of the penny, for the average collector all coins are obtainable at very reasonable prices except for the 1923 coin. This makes this series of coins a good place to start for any collector.
References:
Coinweb http://www.australianstamp.com/Coin-web/aust/halfpenn/1923hpen.htm
Guy Clark's Ancient Coins and Antiquities http://www.ancient-art.com/medieval.htm
McDonald G, Collecting and Investing in Australian Coins and Banknotes, 2nd Ed. (Sydney: 1991).
Myatt B & Hanley T, Australian Coins, Notes and Medals, Castle Books (Melbourne: 1982).
Norman & Plataganet Coins http://www.historyforsale.co.uk/hammered%201066-1399.htm
Pitt I, Renniks Australian Coin & Banknote Values, 18th Ed (Sydney: 1998).
Robert J Lilly - Medieval Coins http://www.newwave.net/~lilcoins/wizze.html
Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org
In
1853 legislation was passed in England for a branch of the London Royal Mint to
open is Sydney. This was to the dismay for the Victorian and South Australian
governments who also bid for a branch of the mint. The Sydney mint opened in old
Rum Hospital in 1955. With the opening of Australia's first mint, the Royal
London Mint saw it as an opportunity to for the Sydney Mint to produce a
uniquely Australian coin. A trial pattern was produced dated 1853 and was a
deliberate measure to differentiate Australian sovereigns from their British
counterparts. To purchase one of the original patterns you would need a lazy
$350,000.
September saw the release of the $10 1853 Sydney Mint Sovereign Pattern coin. The coin is the largest coin that the Royal Australian Mint can produce. The coin is a 60.5 gram mass of silver with a gold plated depiction of the 1953 Sydney Mint Sovereign in its' centre. The coin is a very nice looking coin and in my opinion has what the this year masterpieces in silver lacked - some gold on it to reflect the fact that early Australian gold coinage is being celebrated.
In my opinion the coin is worth the buy on looks alone. Given there are only 10,000 being minted I think this coin is worth buying because, at worst, it will maintain its' value at the issue price of $96.50. I would however expect this coin to rise slightly after the mint has sold out.
McDonald G, Collecting and Investing in Australian Coins and Banknotes, 2nd Ed. (Sydney: 1991).
WorldeBid.com is offering an additional $5.00 credit to people that register at the Worldebid.com site and answer the following question correctly. Winners of the $5.00 additional credit will be announced in the November edition of the magazine. All you need to do is send an email to admin@worldebid.com with your registration ID from WorldeBid.com along with the answer to the following question which appeared in last months edition of the magazine. Answers must be sent by 25th October to receive the credit.
While doing a stock take at the Melbourne museum the rarest penny was found. What date appears on this coin?
Good luck!!!!