The George V Half Penny series, lasting throughout George V's reign from 1911 to 1936, features a partitioned, circular
reverse design with 'COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA' around the outer ring with the year at the bottom and 'ONE HALF PENNY' within the inner ring. The
obverse features the crowned bust of King George V facing to the left and the
legend, 'GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT : OMN : REX F. D. IND : IMP' ('George V, by the grace of god, Ruler and King of Britain, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India').
Like most George V series, this a very popular series to collect. In lower grade, all dates can be acquired at reasonable expense excluding the 1923 Half Penny. Type set collectors would do well aiming for the 1934, 1935, 1936 for good strikes though the 1912-H and 1919 are reasonably affordable if original
mint brilliance is desired.
This series was struck at the London, Heaton, Bombay, Sydney and Melbourne mints. From 1911 to 1915 the London mint struck the half pennies unless they bear the
mintmark 'H' under the lower scroll on the
reverse, which indicates they were struck at the Heaton mint. From 1916 to 1918 the Calcutta mint struck half pennies bearing the
mintmark 'I' under the lower scroll on the reverse. From 1919 to 1922 the Sydney mint struck the half pennies with the rest of the series being struck by the Melbourne mint, except in 1926 where both the Melbourne and Sydney mints were employed until the closing of the Sydney mint later that year.