The 1911 specimen half penny is an elusive issue that shipped with the 1911 specimen penny, 1911 specimen threepence, 1911 specimen sixpence, 1911 specimen shilling and the 1911 specimen florin in 1912 from the Royal mint London as presentation specimens for the Melbourne mint among other institutions. There are fewer than 10 sets available, most if not all are in museum collections. The issue is often referred to as a matte proof but the coins in the set were officially designated by the Royal mint as specimens. The matte proofs issued by the Royal mint were only produced in the silver denominations while the specimen strikes were produced in all denominations. The Royal mint also produced approximately 2.8 million business strikes in 1911.