Cavendish, Richard. “The Farthing’s Last Day.” History Today. December 12, 2010. Accessed December 10, 2020. Find sources: "History of the halfpenny"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( June 2012) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) The halfpennies of King James II (1685–1688) were made of tin with a small square plug of copper in the centre. The corrosion properties of tin mean that very few coins survive in a good state of preservation, not helped by the electrochemical reaction between copper and tin. The objects of using tin were to produce coins at a profit while at the same time producing a coin which would be difficult to counterfeit, and at the same time to assist the ailing tin-mining industry. The coins weighed between 10.5 and 11.6grams, with a diameter of 28–30 millimetres. The obverse showed the right-facing effigy of the king with the inscription IACOBVS SECVNDVS– James the Second – while the reverse shows the same Britannia as before. Unusually, the date appears not on the reverse but on the edge of the coin, which has the inscription NVMMORVM FAMVLVS date– an ancillary coinage. The coins were produced in 1685, 1686, and 1687.

It’s because these old pennies contain a bronze composition made of 95% copper, 5% zinc. And since copper has gone up in value so much in recent years, the amount of copper in a 1967 penny is now worth about twice the coin’s face value — or a total of about 2 cents.George VI issue coins feature the inscription GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP before 1949, and GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX FIDEI DEF thereafter. Unlike the penny, halfpennies were minted throughout the early reign of Elizabeth II, bearing the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRA BRITT OMN REGINA F D in 1953, and ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D thereafter.

There are currently no known major 1967 doubled die pennies that have such drastic doubling — but there are still some really cool (and collectible!) 1967 doubled die pennies out there which show minor doubling. Most of these are rather obscure doubling errors that can be seen in the lettering and date. The king's name appears in the obverse inscription, usually EDW, EDWA, or EDWR R ANGL DNS HYB, or RICARD or HENRI respectively for the issues of Kings Richard II (1377–1399) and Henry IV (1399–1413). The 1967 Lincoln cent is definitely worth looking for in your spare change. I’m going to tell you why. There’s a reason your old 1967 pennies are valuable — and it’s not just because of their age or rarity.

Half Penny 1967 - British Coins Price Guide and Values

The old pre-decimal Penny, was two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound, and was symbolised with a letter 'd'. This is derived from the Roman denarius coin. An old halfpenny, 1/2d, was therefore, 1/480th of a pound sterling. After 1971, the decimal halfpenny was two-hundredth of a pound, it is symbolised with 'p', as '1/2p'. The production of the ½ New Penny was necessary since the old sixpence (with a decimal face value of 2.5p) continued in use up until 1980 and merchants had the ability to charge in nearly as small units as they could previously with the old money. Halfpenny". Oxford English Dictionary (Onlineed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) There was indeed a halfpenny issued in 1970 that was still pre-decimal with the same design as the 1967 coin, but this version was not minted for circulation and instead was issued in souvenir sets for collectors. This uncirculated coin served as a farewell to the pre-decimal halfpenny and gave collectors the chance to add a much better condition coin to their collection.