Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)
A long, long time ago in Britain, people used coins to buy things. One of those coins was called a halfpenny. It was a small coin that was worth half of a penny. That might not sound like a lot, but back then even half a penny could buy a sweet or a small toy!
Now, before we go any further, let's talk about pennies for a second. They were the smallest coin that people used and you needed one hundred pennies to make a pound. That's a lot of pennies!
So, let's get back to the halfpenny. It was a small, copper coin that had the picture of the Queen on one side and a pretty design on the other. People would carry these coins in their pockets or purses and use them to buy small things like a loaf of bread or a newspaper.
But, in 1971, Britain decided to make things easier for people by changing their money system. They stopped using pennies and halfpennies and started using something called decimal money. This means that instead of needing one hundred pennies to make a pound, you only need one hundred pence.
So, the halfpenny stopped being used and became a rare coin that people might find in their grandparents' coin collections or at a museum. But, even though it's not used anymore, it's still part of Britain's history and something that people like to learn about.
Now, before we go any further, let's talk about pennies for a second. They were the smallest coin that people used and you needed one hundred pennies to make a pound. That's a lot of pennies!
So, let's get back to the halfpenny. It was a small, copper coin that had the picture of the Queen on one side and a pretty design on the other. People would carry these coins in their pockets or purses and use them to buy small things like a loaf of bread or a newspaper.
But, in 1971, Britain decided to make things easier for people by changing their money system. They stopped using pennies and halfpennies and started using something called decimal money. This means that instead of needing one hundred pennies to make a pound, you only need one hundred pence.
So, the halfpenny stopped being used and became a rare coin that people might find in their grandparents' coin collections or at a museum. But, even though it's not used anymore, it's still part of Britain's history and something that people like to learn about.