D IND IMP until 1948, then GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX FIDEI DEF. There are reported to be slight differences in the reverse – the size and positioning of the ship, the inscription HALF PENNY and the date under the ship – from year to year, but numismatists differ in opinion as to whether this is significant enough to count as a design variation each year, or just one design for the whole reign. Unlike the penny, Queen Elizabeth II's reign produced halfpennies every year between 1953 and 1967, except for 1961. The reverse was the same as before, while the obverse featured the queen's head by Mary Gillick, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRA BRITT OMN REGINA F D in 1953, and ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D for the rest of the reign. The pre-decimal halfpenny ceased to be legal tender in 1969. The new two pence coin, introduced when decimalisation of British coinage took effect in 1971, is essentially the same size as the halfpenny coin as it had most recently existed. Cricket connection Broadhalfpenny Down, a place of great significance in the history of cricket, got its name from the coin. In popular culture In a 1967 episode of the television series The Avengers, entitled "You Have Just Been Murdered", John Steed assembles 999,999 halfpennies before being made a 'halfpenny millionaire' courtesy of Mrs Peel. The sequence also shows a close up of a 1947 halfpenny reverse. References External links British Coins – information about British coins (from 1656 to 1952) Half penny Pre-decimalisation coins of the United Kingdom Coins of England