A former British coin worth half of one penny; also used for objects or amounts of negligible value.
From 'half' + 'penny' (Old English 'pening'). Halfpennies were minted in Britain for centuries until 1969, creating one of English's most durable compound words based on obsolete currency.
The halfpenny is dead as currency, but 'not worth a halfpenny' lived on as an idiom for 'worthless'—even after the coins disappeared! Language preserves economic history; we still say things aren't 'worth a plugged nickel' even though nobody's seen those coins in decades.
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