Fifty pence (British decimal coin)

Infobox Coin
Denomination = Fifty pence
Country = United Kingdom
Value = 50
Unit = pence sterling
Mass = 8
Diameter = 27.3
Thickness = 1.78
Edge = Plain
Composition = 75% Cu, 25%Ni
Years of Minting = 1997–present
Catalog Number = -
Obverse = British 50 pence obverse.jpg
Obverse Design = Queen Elizabeth II
Obverse Designer = Ian Rank-Broadley
Obverse Design Date = 1997
Reverse = New 50p 2008.jpg
Reverse Design = Bottom Apex of the Royal Shield
Reverse Designer = Matthew Dent
Reverse Design Date = 2008
The British decimal fifty pence (50p) coin – often pronounced "fifty pee" – was issued on 14 October 1969 in the run-up to decimalisation to replace the ten shilling note. Despite the coin's novel shape, there was initial confusion in some areas, with the coin being mistaken for both the old Half Crown and the new ten pence piece. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/14/newsid_3151000/3151539.stm "1969: New 50-pence coin sparks confusion" (retrieved 3 July 2008)] ]

The coin is minted from an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Between 1969 and 1997 the coin weighed 13.50 grams and had a diameter of 30.0 millimetres. In 1997 the coin was reduced in size to weigh 8.00 grams with a diameter of 27.3 millimetres. Apart from the reduction in size the design remained essentially the same (although the original is no longer legal tender). The coin is not circular but is an equilaterally curved heptagon to aid identification. The sides are not straight but are curved so that the centre of curvature is the opposite apex of the coin. In other words, whilst the coin is of a shape which doesn't have a fixed radius about any point, it does have a fixed diameter as a minimum dimension across the face of the coin. This allows the coin to be more easily used and verified as legal tender automatically in vending machines and slot machines for example and also to roll freely (see also curve of constant width). The same shape, though of a smaller diameter, was also later used for the twenty pence piece.

The current reverse of the coin was designed by Matthew Dent who in April 2008 won a Royal Mint competition to redesign the reverses of all circulating coins (except the £2 coin). [ [http://www.dofonline.co.uk/economy/royal-mint-unveils-new-uk-coins.html "Royal Mint unveils new UK coins"] , 2 April 2008] It depicts the lowest point of the Royal Shield, with the words FIFTY PENCE below the point of the shield. The original reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, depicted a seated Britannia alongside a lion, accompanied by either NEW PENCE (1969-1982) or FIFTY PENCE above Britannia, with the numeral 50 underneath the seated figure.

Three different obverses have been used so far – from 1969 to 1984 the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin, from 1985 to 1997 the head by Raphael Maklouf, and since 1998 the head by Ian Rank-Broadley.

As of December 2005 there were an estimated 769 million 50p coins in circulation. [ [http://www.royalmint.gov.uk/Corporate/BritishCoinage/CirculationFigures/Coins_in_Circulation.aspx Estimated Coins in Circulation] , Royal Mint]

Variations

Up to 2008 there have been eighteen varieties of 50p coin, six large and twelve small, as follows.

Large – standard design

mall – commemorative issues

Mintages for circulation strikes

*1969 ~ 188,400,000
*1970 ~ 19,461,500
*1971-1972 ~ none
*1973 ~ 89,775,000
*1974-1975 ~ none
*1976 ~ 43,746,500
*1977 ~ 49,536,000
*1978 ~ 72,005,500
*1979 ~ 58,680,000
*1980 ~ 89,086,000
*1981 ~ 74,002,000
*1982 ~ 51,312,000
*1983 ~ 62,824,904
*1984 ~ none
*1985 ~ 682,103
*1986-1991 ~ none
*1992 ~ 109,000
*1993 ~ none
*1994 ~ 6,705,520
*1995-1996 ~ none"size reduced"
*1997 ~ 456,364,100
*1998 ~ 74,350,500
*1999 ~ 24,905,000
*2000 ~ 39,172,000
*2001 ~ 84,999,500
*2002 ~ 23,907,500
*2003 ~ 26,707,030
*2004 ~ 44,348,000
*2005 ~ 30,254,500

External links

* [http://www.royalmint.gov.uk/Corporate/BritishCoinage/CoinDesign/50pCoin.aspx Royal Mint – 50p coin]
* [http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/dec50.html Coins of the UK – Decimal 50p Coin]

References