Fifty pence (British coin)

Fifty pence

United Kingdom
Value	0.50 pound sterling
Mass	(1969–1994) 13.5 g (1997–present) 8.0 g
Diameter	(1969–1994) 30.0 mm (1997–present) 27.3 mm
Thickness	1.78 mm
Edge	Plain
Composition	Cupro-nickel
Years of minting	1969–present
Obverse
Design	Queen Elizabeth II
Designer	Ian Rank-Broadley
Design date	1998
Reverse
Design	Segment of the Royal Shield
Designer	Matthew Dent
Design date	2008

The British decimal fifty pence (50p) coin – often pronounced fifty pee – is a unit of currency equaling one half of a pound sterling. It is a seven-sided coin formed as an equilateral curve heptagon,^[1] a curve of constant width, meaning that the diameter is constant across any bisection. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction in 1969. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008.

Twenty pence and fifty pence coins are legal tender only up to the sum of £10; this means that it is permissible to refuse payment of sums greater than this amount in 20p and 50p coins in order to settle a debt.^[2]

As of March 2014 there were an estimated 948 million 50p coins in circulation with an estimated face value of £474.032 million.^[3]

Design

Original reverse: 1969–2008

The original reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, and used from 1969 to 2008, is 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.

To date, three different obverses have been used. In all cases, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. 2013,^[4] where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting; the Benjamin Britten coin (2013) additionally has the denomination, FIFTY PENCE, on the obverse, before the year (as the commemorative obverse omits the denomination entirely).^[5]

As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse,^[6] in which the Queen wears the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara.

Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used,^[6] in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem.

In 1997 the 50p coin was reduced in size and the older coins were removed from circulation. The design remained unchanged.^[7]

From 1998 to 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley has been used,^[6] again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark IRB below the portrait. In 2008 the obverse design was rotated slightly, to match the new reverse design which is displayed with the heptagon point down rather than point up.

As of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation.

In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin.^[8] The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008.^[9] The designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety is featured on the £1 coin. The 50p coin depicts the lowest point of the Royal Shield, with the words FIFTY PENCE below the point of the shield. The coin's obverse remains unchanged. It should be noted that this coin is an example of a shape of constant width. Shapes of constant width are shapes that have constant width but are not circular.^[10]

Variations

In addition to the standard designs there have been several variant reverse designs used on the 50p coin to commemorate important events.^[11] These are summarised in the table below.

Year	Event	Design	Designer	Mintage[12]
1973	United Kingdom's accession to the European Economic Community	The inscription "50 PENCE" and the date of the year, surrounded by nine hands, symbolising the nine members of the Community, clasping one another in a mutual gesture of trust, assistance and friendship	David Wynne	89,775,000
1992–93	United Kingdom's Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the completion of the Single European Market	A representation of a table on which are placed twelve stars, linked by a network of lines to each other and also to twelve chairs around the table, on one of which appear the letters "UK", and with the dates "1992" and "1993" above and the value "50 PENCE" below	Mary Milner Dickens	109,000
1994	50th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings	A design representing the Allied invasion force heading for Normandy andfilling the sea and sky, together with the value "50 PENCE"	John Mills	6,705,520
1998	United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union, and the 25th Anniversary of the United Kingdom's accession to the European Economic Community	A celebratory arrangement of stars with the letters "EU" between the Anniversary dates "1973" and "1998", and the value 50 PENCE below	John Mills	5,043,000
1998	50th Anniversary of the National Health Service	A pair of hands set against a pattern of radiating lines with the words "FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY" and the value "50 PENCE",accompanied by the initials "NHS" which appear five times on the outer border	David Cornell	5,001,000
2000	150th Anniversary of the Public Libraries Act 1850	The turning pages of a book, the Anniversary dates "1850" and "2000", and the value "50 PENCE", all above a classical library building on which appear the words "PUBLIC LIBRARIES" and,within the pediment, representations of compact discs	Mary Milner Dickens	11,263,000
2003	100th Anniversary of the formation of the Women's Social and Political Union	The figure of a suffragette chained to railings and holding a banner on which appear the letters WSPU, to the right a ballot paper marked with a cross and the words GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE, to the left the value 50 PENCE, and below and to the far right the Anniversary dates 1903 and 2003	Mary Milner Dickens	3,124,030
2004	50th Anniversary of the first four-minute mile by Roger Bannister	The legs of a running athlete with a stylised stopwatch in the background and the value 50 PENCE below	James Butler	9,032,500
2005	250th Anniversary of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language	Entries from the Dictionary for the words FIFTY and PENCE, with the figure 50 above, and the inscription JOHNSON'S DICTIONARY 1755 below	Tom Phillips	17,649,000
2006	150th Anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross	Depiction of the obverse and reverse of a Victoria Cross with the date 29 JAN 1856 in the centre of the reverse of the Cross, the letters VC to the right and the value FIFTY PENCE below	Claire Aldridge	12,087,000
2006	150th Anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross	Depiction of a soldier carrying a wounded comrade with an outline of the Victoria Cross surrounded by a sunburst effect in the background	Clive Duncan	10,000,500
2007	Centenary of the Foundation of the Scouting Movement	A fleur-de-lis superimposed over a globe and surrounded by the inscription "BE PREPARED", the dates "1907" and "2007", and the denomination "FIFTY PENCE"	Kerry Jones	7,710,750
2009	250th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew	A design showing the pagoda encircled by a vine and accompanied by the dates “1759” and “2009”, with the word “KEW” at the base of the pagoda	Christopher Le Brun	210,000
2010	Celebrating 100 Years of Girlguiding UK	A hexagon made of six of the shamrock symbols of Girlguiding	Jonathan Evans and Donna Hainan	7,410,090
2011	Celebrating 50 years of the work of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)	Fifty small symbols showing the range of work of the WWF	Matthew Dent	3,400,000
2013	Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Christopher Ironside	The design which Ironside made for the 50p coin, showing the Coat of arms of the United Kingdom	Christopher Ironside	7,000,000
2013	Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten	The composer's name, written across musical bars, value is on the obverse for the first time	Tom Phillips	5,300,000
2014	2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow	A cyclist and a runner, separated by the Flag of Scotland	Alex Loudon and Dan Flashman	6,500,000
2015	75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain	Pilots running to their planes while planes fly above them	Gary Breeze	TBA
2016	Battle of Hastings	King Harold hit in the eye with an arrow, a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry.	John Bergdahl	TBA
2016	150th Anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter	A portrait of Beatrix Potter above along with her name, dates of her birth and death (1866-1943) and Peter Rabbit	Emma Noble	TBA
2016	150th Anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit	An image of Peter Rabbit and his name	Emma Noble	TBA

There are also 29 different variants not listed here which were minted in 2011 in celebration of the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[13]

Mintages

Machin portrait
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

Maklouf portrait
1992 ~ 109,000 1993 ~ none 1994 ~ 6,705,520 1995–1996 ~ none size reduced 1997 ~ 456,364,100

Rank-Broadley portrait
1998 ~ 64,306,500 1999 ~ 24,905,000 2000 ~ 17,915,500 2001 ~ 84,998,500 2002 ~ 23,907,500 2003 ~ 23,583,000 2004 ~ 35,315,500 2005 ~ 25,363,500 2006 ~ 24,567,000 2007 ~ 11,200,000 2008 ~ 3,500,000 (Britannia design) 2008 ~ 22,747,000 (Matthew Dent design)[12] 2012 ~ 32,300,000 2013 ~ 10,301,000

London 2012 Olympic sporting series

Aquatics (swimmer) ~ 2,179,000 Archery ~ 3,345,500 Athletics (high jumper) ~ 2,224,000 Badminton ~ 2,133,500 Basketball ~ 1,748,000 Boccia ~ 2,166,000 Boxing ~ 2,148,500 Canoeing ~ 2,166,500 Cycling ~ 2,090,500 Equestrian ~ 2,142,500 Fencing ~ 2,115,500 Football ~ 1,125,500 Goalball ~ 1,615,500 Gymnastics ~ 1,720,813 Handball 1,676,500 Hockey ~ 1,773,500 Judo ~ 1,161,500 Modern Pentathlon ~ 1,689,500 Rowing ~ 1,717,300 Sailing ~ 1,749,500 Shooting ~ 1,656,500 Table tennis ~ 1,737,500 Taekwondo ~ 1,664,000 Tennis ~ 1,454,000 Triathlon ~ 1,163,500 Volleyball ~ 2,133,500 Weightlifting ~ 1,879,500 Wheelchair Rugby ~ 1,765,500 Wrestling ~ 1,129,500[12]

References

1. The seven sides of a UK 50p Coin
2. Royal Mint Frequently Asked Questions
3. "Mintage Figures". Royal Mint. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
4. Clayton, Tony. "Decimal Coins of the UK – Bronze". Retrieved 2006-05-24.
5. "The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Benjamin Britten 2013 UK 50p Coin". The Royal Mint. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
6. "1p Coin". British Royal Mint. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/60585.stm
8. "Royal Mint seeks new coin designs", BBC News, 17 August 2005
9. "Royal Mint unveils new UK coins", 2 April 2008
10. "Mathematical Explorations with MATLAB", Google Books, 31 January 2014
11. "Fifty Pence Coin". Royal Mint. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
12. United Kingdom decimal coins issued into general circulation, Royal Mint
13. London 2012 coin designs and specifications, Royal Mint. Retrieved 2014-05-08.

External links

• Royal Mint - 50p coin