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The 1918 Half Penny is a key date struck at the Calcutta Mint in India to a mintage of 1,440,000. The relatively small mintage has made the type quite scarce with less than a dozen examples graded in mint-state. (PCGS, 2017) The reverse of the coin features a small 'I' mint-mark located below the denomination and lower scroll on the reverse.
Despite very high mintage's in 1916 and 1917 Australia's demand for new Half Pennies remained strong into 1918. A substantial coin shortage occurred toward the end of 1918 when Australia's penny and half-penny pieces were delayed arriving from India. The reason for this delay was described as "owing to war causes." The Sydney newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph' claimed that another factor causing the shortage was an increase in the prices of public transport fares, theatres, and stamps which were increasing the quantity of copper coinage needed in circulation. (The Daily Telegraph, 1918)
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