453, Lot: 805. Estimate $75. Sold for $55. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HANOVER. Victoria. 1837-1901. CU Half Farthing (18mm, 2.37 g, 12h). Young Head coinage. For circulation in Ceylon. London mint. Dated 1839. Head left, with hair tied in fillet / Crowned denomination and date; rose with three leaves below. Peck 1590; SCBC 3951. Red-brown surfaces with purple toning. Choice EF.

From the Brondesbury Park Collection, purchased from Harrow Coins, 20 June 1968.

The 1839 issue of half farthings was intended specifically for use in Ceylon. In June 1842, the denomination was authorized for circulation in Britain, with the reverse floral element on later specimens altered to a shamrock, rose, and thistle to indicate the change in intended audience.