South Africa 1936 1/2 penny
This specimen was lot 72236 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2021), where it sold for $95. The catalog description[1] noted, "SOUTH AFRICA. 1/2 Penny, 1936. London Mint. George V. NGC MS-65 Brown. A lovely example for the type, offering underlying pinwheel luster and some remaining brilliance." South Africa, after a turbulent history between English and Dutch settlers and the native population, was constituted the Union of South Africa in 1910. Coinage commenced in 1923. The half pennies, modeled on British half pennies of the sterling system, featured the Dromedaris, a Dutch sailing ship, on the reverse. This type, struck 1923-36 in three sub-types, is common. The date is common but proofs are rare. With the collapse of apartheid, collecting South African coins is now respectable again.
Recorded mintage: 407,000 + 40 proofs.
Specification: 5.67 g, bronze, 25.6 mm diameter, plain edge.
Catalog reference: KM-13.3.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Hern, Brian, John Bothma and Hercie Pieterse, Hern's Handbook on South African Coins & Patterns, Ferndale, South Africa, 2013.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The October 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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