Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
Pennies and halfpence, the king’s head and no country name: the United Kingdom.
- 1THREE HALFPENCE
- 2BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION 1924
- Inscription
- BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION 1924 · THREE HALFPENCE
- Meaning
- “Three halfpence” is 1½ pennies in the old British money of pounds, shillings and pence.
- Issued by
- United Kingdom
- Today
- the United Kingdom Flag of United Kingdom
- Year
- 1924. Issued 1924 for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.
- Made by
- Harold Nelson (design, died 1948)
One fact
These were the first British commemorative stamps. Harold Nelson’s lion design was used for both the penny and the three-halfpenny value.
Source and public-domain rule
Creators died more than 70 years ago. Designer Harold Nelson died 1948. Also Crown copyright (published 1924) ended in 1974. Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, counted from 1 January of the year after death. Every named designer and engraver of the stamp died before 1 January 1956; any contributor who was never named counts as anonymous, whose term is 70 years from publication, and the stamp was published before 1956. Legal sources: Directive 2006/116/EC, Art. 1(1) life + 70 years; Art. 1(3) anonymous works 70 years from publication; Art. 7(1) comparison of terms for works from outside the EU; Art. 8 terms run from 1 January, Switzerland, Norway.
Scan: British Empire 1924 issue-1½p.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1098689040), licence templates {{PD-UKGov}} (a public-domain reason different from ours; both are recorded). Downloaded 2026-10-19, sha256 746ceeee4cd5…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-19 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a human rights review is pending. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
