Halfpenny 1953, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The obverse of the coin shows the laureate young bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right - her effigy known as the "First Portrait". The laurel wreath in the Queen's hair is tied with a ribbon with two ends flowing behind.

The designer's initials, M.G. (for Mary Gillick) appear incuse on the base of the shoulder truncation, and can be seen when the coin is viewed at an angle.

The monarch's legend runs continuously all around the bust: + ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRATIA · REGINA. Translated from Latin: Elizabeth the Second, by the grace of God, Queen.

At centre a kangaroo leaping right; around above, AUSTRALIA; around below, the denomination HALF PENNY. The date 1953 is below the kangaroo and the seven pointed Federation star follows the word PENNY. The artist's initials, KG (for [George] Kruger Gray) are below the kangaroo's tail near the rim.

The small dot placed high after the word AUSTRALIA is the mint mark of the Perth Mint on this issue (listed in catalogues as "A.").

Specimens (proofs) were produced this year for official purposes only. According to CoinFactsWiki:

"Struck for Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953, a minuscule total of twelve, penny through florin, sets were officially produced at the Melbourne Mint, with the entire mintage ending up in the possession of the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York for their currency museum. Clearly, later de-accessioned or distributed, less than half of these have made their way to auction over the following six decades. The Halfpenny, missing from the standard Coronation set, was actually struck separately at the Perth Mint (identified by the dot after Australia). While the true mintage remains unknown, its rarity likely even surpasses that of the sets."

Krause catalogues list mintage of 23,967,000 plus 16 proofs.