50 Pence

St. Helena's 1979 decimal notes replaced the pre-decimal pound series following the island's adoption of decimalisation in 1976 — three years after mainland Britain made the same switch. The delay was administrative rather than economic; the island's tiny circulation volumes and dependency on sterling shipments from the UK meant there was little urgency. Thomas De La Rue handled the print run, as they had for virtually every St. Helena issue since the nineteenth century.

The series is notable for its small print runs. With a resident population under 6,000, demand was limited, and notes frequently left circulation quickly as souvenirs — which makes genuinely used examples harder to find than uncirculated ones.