Great Britain 1956 half penny
This specimen was lot 51124 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Pittsburgh, PA, August 2023), where it sold for $1,020. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Penny, 1956. London Mint. Elizabeth II. PCGS PROOF-64 Red. Full of intoxicating brilliance and red color, this staggering near-Gem stands as the pinnacle of copper coins from the early reign of Elizabeth II." Altho 40,000 proof sets were made and sold in 1953, the proofs of the rest of the decade are all rare. The sailing ship reverse was introduced in 1937. The obverse legend was revised in 1954 to drop "BRITT:OMN:" and the half penny was terminated in 1970.
Recorded mintage: 21,799,000 plus a few proofs.
Specification: 5.6 g, bronze, 25.4 mm diameter, plain edge.
Catalog reference: S-4158; KM-896.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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