South Africa Half Penny and Penny 1923 to 1960

Hi Orrine -- You have a modern penny from South Africa, which was British until 1961. Since it is a British coin, the picture on the front shows the reigning monarch: George V, George VI, or Elizabeth II. These are nice, big, heavy collectible coins, and the sailing ship design on the reverse is a nice one.

In 1931 they changed the reading of the denomination of the coin from 1 PENNY to 1D, where 'D' is short for DENARIUS, a small coin from the ancient Roman Empire. The half penny shows 1/2D.

The coin in our picture is a beauty. It has no wear and strong eye appeal. It comes from respected eBay seller 4thekidssa, and CoinQuest thanks this forward-looking eBayer for allowing us to use the picture.

Value-wise, the early dates (like 4thekidssa's coin) are scarce and therefore command good value. After 1933, Britain upped production and the more abundant coins go down in value. The listings below give approximate 'ballpark' values for these coins.

HALF PENNY 1923 to 1930:
worn: $4 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $12
well preserved: $40
fully uncirculated (like our picture): $100
coins dated 1923: $90 in well preserved condition

HALF PENNY 1931 to 1938:
worn: $3 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $8
well preserved: $25
fully uncirculated: $80
coins dated 1923 and 1924 are more common higher grades and catalog at $50 in fully uncirculated condition
coins dated 1933: $15 in average circulated condition

HALF PENNY 1939 to 1960:
worn: less than $1 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $1
well preserved: $4
fully uncirculated: $8

PENNY 1923 to 1930:
worn: $5 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $15
well preserved: $50
fully uncirculated (like our picture): $200

PENNY 1931 to 1938:
worn: $3 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $8
well preserved: $20
fully uncirculated: $80
coins dated 1933: $15 in average circulated condition

PENNY 1939 to 1960:
worn: $1 US dollars catalog value
average circulated: $3
well preserved: $8
fully uncirculated: $12
coins dated 1947: $10 average circulated
coins dated 1954: $8 average circulated

Use our Important Terminology page to convert these catalog values to actual buy and sell values.
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