½ Penny - George V 1st portrait (1911–1925)

One row for each year the ½ Penny - George V 1st portrait was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1911 Halfpenny - George V

The 1911 Halfpenny - George V is a circulating ½ penny coin issued from 1911 to 1925, struck in bronze (.950 Cu, .040 Sn, .015 Zn). It weighs 5.67g and measures 25.5mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia right, trident in left hand, shield bearing the Union flag in right, denomination around, date in exergue, sea behind.

Mintage figures are recorded for 15 years between 1911 and 1925, 333,503,800 coins in all. 1922 is the scarcest date, with 10,734,900 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1969), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

George V's halfpenny was made current by the proclamation of 28 November 1910, effective 1 January 1911, which set new designs for the gold and bronze coins. The halfpenny kept the seated Britannia of the previous reign and took the new King's portrait.

This first portrait was used from 1911 until 1925. Coin Hunter's figures, which Wikipedia's rounded table matches, show heavy wartime demand: 39,386,143 in 1916 and 38,245,436 in 1917, against 12,570,880 in 1911. Wikipedia's penny history ties the rising need for small change to the National Insurance Act of 1911 and then the war. Output dropped back after 1921, and 1922 was the smallest date at 10,734,964.

During 1925 the portrait was modified, so the 1925 total of 12,216,123 covers both this type and the next.

The obverse is Bertram Mackennal's bare head of George V facing left, with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF: IND: IMP: around it and Mackennal's initials B M on the truncation. The proclamation describes the reverse as Britannia seated as on the penny, on a rock surrounded by the sea with shield and trident, with the inscription and date and a plain edge.

The Britannia is Leonard Charles Wyon's bronze design, which George William de Saulles simplified in 1895 by removing the lighthouse and ship. Clayton notes that the George V reverse began as it had been for Edward VII.

Collecting notes

Tony Clayton states that the George V halfpennies have no rarities or scarce dates, so a full date run of this type is straightforward. For 1925, check which portrait a coin carries, since Clayton records that the obverse and reverse changed together during that year and no mules are known. No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this type.

The halfpenny ceased to be legal tender from 31 July 1969, the Royal Mint Museum records. The modified effigy halfpenny of 1925 to 1927 followed.