Rarely sells: 2 verified sales in the last 12 months.
½ Penny - Victoria 1st portrait bronzed (1839)
"Young Head"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1839 |
| Denomination | ½ Penny |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | 1869 |
| Composition | Bronze plated copper |
| Weight | 9.450g |
| Diameter | 28.4mm |
| Thickness | 2.12mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | William Wyon |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
First uncrowned portrait ('Young Head') of Queen Victoria left, legend around, date below.
Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, legend around and national flower emblems in exergue.
bronzed Halfpenny market value
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Affiliatebronzed Halfpenny price history
Daily limit reachedbronzed Halfpenny value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDC | £275.00 🔒 | £275.00 (1) | – | £275.00 – £275.00 | 0 | 1 | 06-03-2005 | |
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| VF | £830.38 🔒 | £385.00 | – | £130.00 – £830.38 | 0 | 8 | 12-03-2025 | |
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| PR-64 | £830.38 🔒 | £792.64 (2) | – | £754.89 – £830.38 | 1 | 2 | 12-01-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £1,358.80 🔒 | £650.00 | – | £120.00 – £1,358.80 | 1 | 20 | 16-01-2026 | |
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| PR-66 | £1,207.82 🔒 | £1,207.82 (1) | – | £1,207.82 – £1,207.82 | 0 | 1 | 16-03-2025 | |
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About the 1839 Halfpenny - Victoria – bronzed
The 1839 Halfpenny - Victoria – bronzed is a collector ½ penny coin, struck in bronze plated copper. It weighs 9.45g and measures 28.4mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, legend around and national flower emblems in exergue.
It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1869), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1839 Halfpenny - Victoria – bronzed worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1839 Halfpenny - Victoria – bronzed run from £275 to £1,208 across 5 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
Is the 1839 halfpenny a circulation coin?
No. It is a proof with a bronzed finish. CoinVarieties quotes an auction description calling 1839 a proof-only issue, and the Royal Mint Museum catalogues its two examples as proof halfpennies. The first currency halfpennies of the reign are dated 1838.
How many 1839 bronzed halfpennies were made?
No Mint figure is published. CoinVarieties gives 300 proofs, quoting an auction estimate. Coin Hunter prints 268,800 against an 1839 proof halfpenny, a figure that cannot apply to a proof-only striking and looks like a mistake.
Why is one 1839 proof halfpenny struck over an 1843 coin?
The Royal Mint Museum notes that its example RMM 4172 is overstruck on a halfpenny of 1843. That means the 1839 dies were still being used to strike proofs in 1843 or later, so the piece was made well after the date it carries.
Who designed the 1839 halfpenny?
The portrait is William Wyon's Young Head, which the Royal Mint Museum says was approved for the coinage in 1838. The seated Britannia follows the halfpenny design Wyon prepared for George IV in 1825, with REG for Regina in the legend.
How do I identify the 1839 Halfpenny - Victoria – bronzed?
Check the weight 9.45g and diameter 28.4mm and the metal (bronze plated copper) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
Queen Victoria's first copper halfpennies are dated 1838. The halfpenny dated 1839 is a different thing: a proof struck in copper and given a bronzed finish, with no currency striking recorded for the year. Tony Clayton notes that no halfpennies at all were issued in 1840, so the run of currency dates restarts in 1841.
No official mintage exists. CoinVarieties quotes an auction estimate of 300 pieces. The Royal Mint Museum holds two examples, and its record for RMM 4172 adds that the coin is overstruck on a halfpenny of 1843, so some 1839-dated proofs were made at least four years after their date.
The obverse carries William Wyon's Young Head of the Queen facing left, with VICTORIA DEI GRATIA around and the date below. The Royal Mint Museum calls this portrait, approved for the coinage in 1838, the pride of Wyon's work.
The reverse shows Britannia seated right with trident and shield, BRITANNIAR: REG: FID: DEF: around, and a shamrock, rose and thistle below. Wikipedia explains that Wyon placed the national flowers in the exergue on the 1825 halfpenny and that Victoria's copper halfpennies kept that design with REG for Regina. Neither side shows the denomination, which first appeared on the bronze coins of 1860.
Varieties and errors
The museum's RMM 4172 is struck over an 1843 halfpenny, which shows that the 1839 proof dies were reused later. Its second example, RMM 8410, weighs 9.56 g against 9.45 g for RMM 4172.
Collecting notes
The museum records a plain edge and a weight of about 9.5 g. Proofs are judged on their surfaces as much as on wear, and the bronzed finish is part of the coin.
Look for traces of an undertype on any example, since the museum's own piece is an overstrike. The bronzed penny of the same date is covered at 1839 bronzed penny, and the currency coins at Young Head copper halfpenny.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Victoria proof halfpenny, 1839 (RMM 4172), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1839 half penny, CoinVarieties (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Halfpenny, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 10 Oct 2026)
- History of the halfpenny, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- William Wyon, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Object search: Victoria proof halfpenny 1839, Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1839 coin values, Coin Hunter (read 10 Oct 2026)
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