Fifty pence (British decimal coin)
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Fifty pence (United Kingdom) | |
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Value: | 50 pence sterling |
Mass: | 8 g |
Diameter: | 27.3 mm |
Thickness: | 1.78 mm |
Edge: | Plain |
Composition: | 75% Cu, 25%Ni |
Years of minting: | 1997–present |
Catalog number: | — |
Obverse | |
Design: | Queen Elizabeth II |
Designer: | Ian Rank-Broadley |
Design date: | 1998 |
Reverse | |
Design: | Bottom Apex of the Royal Shield |
Designer: | Matthew Dent |
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 amongst some members of the public, with the coin being mistaken for both the old half crown and the new ten pence piece.[1]
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).[2] 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.[3]
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[edit] Variations
Up to 2008 there have been eighteen varieties of 50p coin, six large and twelve small, as follows.
[edit] Large – standard design
1969–1972, 1974–1981
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1982–1984
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1985–1993, 1995–1997
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[edit] Large – commemorative issues
1973: Commemorates the UK's accession to the European Economic Community.
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1992–3: Commemorates the completion of the EC single market and the British presidency of the EC.
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1994: 50th anniversary of the Normandy Landings ("D-Day").
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[edit] Small – standard design
1997
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1998–2008[5]
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2008–
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[edit] Small – commemorative issues
1998: 25th anniversary of Britain joining the EU.
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1998: 50th anniversary of the National Health Service.
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2000: 150th anniversary of the Public Libraries Act of 1850.
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2003: Centenary of the Women's Social and Political Union (the Suffragettes).
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2004: 50th anniversary of the first sub-four-minute mile, Roger Bannister, 6 May 1954.
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2005: 250th anniversary of the publication of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language.
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2006: 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross.
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2006: 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross.
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2007: 100th anniversary of the Scout Movement.
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2009: 250th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.[6]
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[edit] 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
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "1969: New 50-pence coin sparks confusion" (retrieved 3 July 2008)
- ^ "Royal Mint unveils new UK coins", 2 April 2008
- ^ Estimated Coins in Circulation, Royal Mint
- ^ Proposal to issue commemorative 50 pence coin to celebrate UK accession to the EEC, The National Archives
- ^ United Kingdom 50p Coin Design
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard Ministerial Statements for 12 July 2007". http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070712/wmstext/70712m0001.htm. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
Preceded by Ten shilling note |
Half Pound 1971–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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