Summary

Proof 1/2 Penny, Issued by Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), 1934
Minted by Royal Mint, London

Obverse Description

Around hole, a crowned rose; around, GEORGE V KING EMPEROR

Reverse Description

Around hole, HALF PENNY; around outside sprigs, SOUTHERN RHODESIA 1934

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

From 1932 Southern Rhodesia introduced it's own silver coins and the British Imperial and South African coins, which had been in use there, were withdrawn. 1933 saw a request for the lower denominations of penny and halfpenny sent to the Royal Mint, London. As the Southern Rhodesian government wished to keep the costs of this coinage as low as possible, a rejected pattern for a 1927 Imperial sixpence was adapted. That piece had featured a Tudor rose, now struck with a hole through its centre. The original design was the work of the artist Derwent Wood.

The coins were proclaimed current in Southern Rhodesia on 26 June 1934 and in Northern Rhodesia on 9 January 1935.

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