Roo Reverse

The half penny switched over to the Kruger Gray, or Kangaroo reverse in 1939 and continued with the design until 1952. The reverse design features a Kangaroo jumping to the right with AUSTRALIA around the top of the design, HALF PENNY around the bottom and the year right above that, just behind the Kangaroo's legs. The obverse features an uncrowned bust of King George VI facing to the left and the legend , GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND : IMP ( George VI, by the grace of god, Ruler and King of Britain, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India ) and was used up until 1948 when it was needed to be changed due to the independence of India. Date set collectors will have no problems completing the series with the key dates , the 1939, 1942 and 1944 being readily available in lower grades. In mint state , type set collectors would find best value in the 1940, 1941, 1942-I, 1943, 1943-I and 1948 which are all readily obtainable with original mint brilliance , though the 1940 tends to commands high prices. Half pennies in this series were struck at the Melbourne, Bombay and Perth mints. Perth mint half pennies feature a dot after the Y of PENNY and no dot before HALF whereas the Bombay mint half pennies featured both dots and also an I under the bust on the obverse. All other half pennies in the series were struck at the Melbourne mint.