This article just perpetuates the image of the unloved halfpenny (worse yet for the farthing, to be sure): http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27467675 The halfpenny also had an image problem because it wasn't very aesthetically pleasing as well, according to Hockenhull. "It didn't have the Royal Coat of Arms like the pound coin, an image of Britannia or the ship of the pre-decimal halfpenny. It was a boring looking coin - not one I can't imagine anyone thinking beautiful. It also didn't symbolise a national identity. The halfpenny was always a part of a penny, never its own entity...." Impractical? Now, of course. But lacking beauty and history (especially the earlier halfpennies)? I don't think so. Here are some friends of mine: I love these early copper halfpennies. They exude history and beauty. Fortunately for the collector, they are frequently overlooked and undervalued. guy
Interesting article & alot of the feelings are how most of us feel about our cent. And as for the designs, from the photos, it looks like the modern ones from just a few decades ago. If thats what they are referring too, then I agree I find them boring too. But the examples posted in the OP thread are lovely but feature Britannia.
Speaking of British half pennies, I found this 1861 at work. A customer spent it and I assumed they thought it was a quarter, so I accepted it as a quarter and bought it for a quarter.
To be fair, the article was denigrating the decimal halfpenny (minted from 1971-1984), not the halfpenny in general; the most recent non-decimal halfpenny it even complimented (I have a few of those, and love the ship on the reverse). I have a few of Britain's last farthings and love the wren design. There never was a decimal farthing because the denomination didn't survive that long (last year farthings were minted was 1955; they were declared no longer legal tender in 1961).
