Description

This 1953 Australian Halfpenny was the first to feature Queen Elizabeth II, showing her young laureate portrait by Mary Gillick. The reverse, designed by George Kruger Gray, displays the iconic leaping kangaroo. Minted at the Perth Mint with a small dot (“A.”) mint mark, it circulated until decimalisation in 1966 but remains legal tender. A significant coin marking the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign in Australian currency.

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.