The Kangaroo design continued into this type right until the introduction of decimal currency with the conclusion of the half penny series in 1964. This type features a slightly reworded
obverselegend
,
ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F:D
('Elizabeth II, by the grace of god, queen, defender of the faith'), after public outcry that the previous type omitted
FIDEI DEF
('defender of the faith').
All dates in the series are easy to acquire in
mint state, although the Perth mint issues from 1960 to 1964 are very difficult to find in higher
mint state
grades due to poor strikes and the unattractive salmon pink colour found on un-toned examples. The 1959 Melbourne is often found well struck up and showing bright red
mint brilliance
as several
mint rolls
were found, however, it is still difficult to find beyond MS65. The Melbourne mint struck the 1959 half penny; all later years were struck at the Perth mint and feature a dot after the 'Y' of 'PENNY'.