Bare head of the King George VI facing left, surrounded by the abbreviated translation of “George VI King and Emperor”.

George VI (1895–1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth.

As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. George's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936. However, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman and remain king. Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor.

Engraver: Thomas Humphrey Paget

A ship Dromedaris sailing to right, legend in English and Afrikaans either side, with date above and denomination below.

The Dromedaris is one of the three vessels which brought Jan van Riebeeck and his small group of settlers to South Africa from Holland in 1652 in order to establish a refreshment station on behalf of the Dutch East India Company.

Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (1619–1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator who founded Cape Town in what then became the Dutch Cape Colony of the Dutch East India Company.

The symbol 'D' for pence derives from the Latin denarius used in the Middle Ages.

Variations for 1940 and 1942: with or without star (diamond) after date.

Engraver: George Kruger Gray