½ Penny - Victoria 3rd portrait (1895–1901)

One row for each year the ½ Penny - Victoria 3rd 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. 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 1895 Halfpenny - Victoria

The 1895 Halfpenny - Victoria is a circulating ½ penny coin issued from 1895 to 1901, struck in bronze. 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 7 years between 1895 and 1901, 66,500,000 coins in all. 1895 is the scarcest date, with 3,032,000 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1969), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Joseph Edgar Boehm's Jubilee Head of 1887 had never been used on the bronze coins, and it proved unpopular on the gold and silver. In 1893 it was replaced by Thomas Brock's veiled portrait, and in 1895 that portrait reached the bronze, ending the bun head halfpenny's 35 year run.

Coin Hunter gives 3,032,154 for 1895, the low date of the type. Every later year passed 8.5 million, with 13,805,190 in 1900 the highest, and the seven dates total 66,500,700. The coins remained legal tender until 31 July 1969.

The obverse shows Brock's portrait of the elderly Queen, wearing a diadem partly covered by a veil, with a necklace, earring and the Garter riband and star, engraved by George William de Saulles. Tony Clayton gives the legend as VICTORIA DEI GRA: BRITT: REGINA FID: DEF: IND: IMP:, adding Empress of India, a title the Queen had taken in 1876.

The reverse keeps Wyon's seated Britannia with trident and shield, HALF PENNY around and the date in the exergue, but the ship and lighthouse are gone. Wikipedia credits the modification to de Saulles. The edge is plain.

Varieties and errors

Clayton records no obverse variations. During 1896 the reverse was slightly enlarged, with the distance from the exergue line to the top of the helmet plume growing from 20.3 mm to 20.7 mm. 1897 has two reverses: on the second the sea stands 3.35 mm above the exergue line rather than 3.0 mm, and the shield almost touches the border teeth.

Collecting notes

The sea level matters for date runs across the change of reign. Clayton notes that the first Edward VII halfpennies of 1902 kept the low sea of the 1898 to 1901 coins before a higher tide was introduced. The previous type is the later bun head halfpenny.