In 1951 the Royal Mint in London produced 6,960,000 pennies for Australia. In the same year the Melbourne and Perth Mint produced a combined additional 29,422,000 pieces. The London variety can be distinguished by a 'PL' mint-mark, abbreviated from pecunia londinii (money of London) or percussa londinio (struck at London). The Perth Mint variety can be distinguished by a dot mint-mark located in the same spot.
The 1951 London mint half penny is one of the easiest years in the George VI series, and probably the easiest year to find in the upper mint state grades. The strike is almost always perfect as with most London mint issues, and the colour ranges from an even chocolate brown to a ripe, golden orange. For this reason this is often the date of choice for type set collectors.