mossg, The Birmingham halfpenny is almost certainly a trade token. Many such tokens were made around the country. This was as a result of the cost of minting low value coins being dearer than the face value of the coin. By issuing trade tokens, employers ensured that their own workers could only spend there wages via their employer thus keeping the wages circulating within the firm. It was the advent of the steam-driven coining presses that brought the manufacturing costs down and with it the end of trade tokens. The "Cartwheel" pennies and halfpennies, of which their are still plenty about, were too soft to be a practical coin and today only pristine samples have any real monetary value. If a more detailed knowledge is required, I would suggest a visit to the Birmingham City Museum and speak to their numismatist expert. Regards. willey