Expert: Kevin Av - 6/3/2007

Question
I have a half penny, possibly Canadian. Its copperish colored, slightly larger than a quarter. It dates 1963 with a boat, and on the other side it says Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina F D. what exactly is it?

Answer
Hi Caitlin,

It's a British halfpenny from their "pre-decimal days", when a British pound was divided into 240 pence (plural of penny).

At the time of use (until 1970), these coins were worth roughly 1c US, and were fast dissappearing from use because of their size, and relatively low value. As a result, many are still around today having been saved in large numbers. As a matter of fact, these pre-decimal British halfpennies and pennies are sometimes sold by coin wholesalers by the pound (weight), with the cost per piece being 10 cents or less.

I hope this helps!