Coins minted from 1862 through 1873 all have the date 1862.
The legend reads "Victoria Queen" for coins dated 1862 - 1876.
It reads "Victoria Empress" for coins dated 1877 - 1899.

The Half Rupee coin has three distinct Obverse designs, which can be identified by examining the panels on the front of the dress. Note that similar types B and C do not both occur on the half rupees of any specific year, so there should be no confusion.

Type A - The front of the dress has 4 panels. The details in the panels is quite different from Type B and Type C.
Type B - The front of the dress has 4-1/2 or 4-2/3 panels. The five petaled flower in the bottom panel doesn't totally fit in the panel, unlike with Type C below. This type is apparently seen only on coins of 1874 through 1877, 1881 and 1882
Type C - Similar to Type B, but the dress has 4-3/4 panels and the floral design of the dress is different. This type is apparently unique to the 1862 issue. See comparison photos below.
The details in the floral design of the dress is different for all three types.