1/2 Penny - George VI

Australian halfpenny production ran almost continuously through the Second World War, but 1942 and 1943 saw striking contracted out to the Bombay and San Francisco mints respectively — an emergency measure as the Perth and Melbourne facilities strained under wartime demand. The Bombay issues are distinguishable by a small dot above the bottom scroll, a detail that has made them a genuine collecting target rather than an afterthought.

The postwar years through 1948 saw mintages climb sharply as consumer spending recovered. Circulated examples from the war years routinely show accelerated wear from heavy use in low-denomination transactions.