Halfpenny (British decimal coin) of new pence) alongside the new decimal coinage. The halfpenny coin's obverse featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II; the reverse featured an image of St Edward's Crown. It was minted in bronze (like the 1p and 2p coins). It was the smallest decimal coin in both size and value. The size was in proportion to the 1p and 2p coins. It soon became Britain's least favourite coin. The Treasury had continued to argue that the halfpenny was important in the fight against inflation (preventing prices from being rounded up). The coin was demonetised and withdrawn from circulation in December
Decimal Day Ireland operated within the Sterling Area, effectively a single monetary area. The Irish pound had come into existence as a separate currency in 1927 with distinct coins and notes, but the terms of the Irish Currency Act obliged the Irish currency commissioners to redeem Irish pounds on a fixed 1:1 basis, and so day-to-day banking operations continued exactly as they had been before the creation of the Irish pound (). This state of affairs continued until 1979 when Irish obligations to the European Monetary System forced them to break the historic link with Sterling. In Ireland, all pre-decimal coins, except