The second Elizabethan era was a period of significant change that had a lasting impact on modern Britain. Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1952 and went on to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She is also the only monarch to have had both a pre-decimal and decimal coinage.

Following decimalisation, a decimal halfpenny was introduced. It was thought that the inclusion of this smaller denomination would aid familiarity between the new and the old coinage, but the decimal halfpenny was removed from circulation in 1984. The reverse design of the Elizabeth II decimal halfpenny features the St Edward’s Crown.

This coin is also available as part of The Making of Modern Britain Queen Elizabeth II Decimal Bundle, which offers collectors the opportunity to own an example of each of the decimal denominations of Elizabeth II’s reign.

*Packaging Image is for example only