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50-cent coin

Canada
Value	0.50 Canadian dollar
Mass	6.9 g
Diameter	27.13 mm
Thickness	1.95 mm
Edge	Milled
Composition	Nickel-plated steel 93.15% steel, 4.75% Cu, 2.1% Ni plating
Years of minting	1870–present
Catalogue number	–
Obverse
Design	Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Designer	Susanna Blunt
Design date	2003
Design discontinued	2023
Design	Charles III, King of Canada
Designer	Steven Rosati
Design date	2023
Reverse
Design	Canadian coat of arms
Designer	Thomas Shingles
Design date	1959, updated 1997

The Canadian fifty-cent coin (French: pièce de cinquante cents) is a Canadian coin worth 50 cents. The coin's reverse depicts the coat of arms of Canada. At the opening ceremonies for the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint, held on January 2, 1908, Governor General Earl Grey struck the Dominion of Canada's first domestically produced coin. It was a silver fifty-cent coin bearing the effigy of King Edward VII.

Though it is regularly minted, it is not made in large quantities (approximate annual average production of 150,000), and since 2004 has only been available to the public directly from the mint. It is very rare to encounter this denomination in everyday transactions, since there seems to be the mistaken belief among many Canadians that the coin itself is rare. Most times, when a 50-cent coin is exchanged in a transaction, it is saved by its recipient. People quite commonly, upon being presented with 50-cent coins, question the legality of the coin, because of the non-circulating status of the denomination. The coin occupies a similar status to that of the United States half-dollar coin. Vending machines do not generally accept it, even when they accept coins of both higher and lower value.

A largely unsuccessful attempt was made by the Royal Canadian Mint to promote the use of the coin when a special edition was released in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne. After this failed promotion, the mint stopped distributing 50-cent coins to banks and now sells them only in rolls or in coin sets available directly from their Numismatic Department at twice their face value, or $25 per roll of 25 coins.

The mint's website lists the 2007 coat of arms 50-cent coin as "rarely seen yet replete with tradition".

History

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During the early to mid-1920s, demand for 50-cent coins was minimal. Only 28,000 coins were issued between 1921 and 1929. When greater demand for the denomination arose in 1929, the Master of the Ottawa Mint decided to melt the stock of 1920 and 1921 coins. It amounted to a total of 480,392 coins. The decision was due to the belief that the public would suspect counterfeits if a large number of coins dated 1920 and 1921 were placed into circulation. It is believed that 75 or so of the 1921 coins have survived, mainly from sets that were sold at the time.

Composition and size

Circulation figures

Elizabeth II

Commemoratives

Collecting

Known as the "king of Canadian coins", the 1921 Canadian half-dollar is rare, with a high-grade example (PCGS MS-66) having sold for US$227,546 in a January 2010 Heritage Auction. The highest-graded specimen is graded by PCGS at MS-67 and was last sold (by Diverse Equities) in the year 2000 to a private collector for the US$400,000.

Notes

1. While half dollars remain legal tender, they are rarely used in commerce.
2. These coins came in a set of 6 (25,004 minted each) all celebrating the same theme.

References

1. "50 cents". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
2. ^ Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, Volume One, 67th Edition, W.K. Cross, Editor, p. 194, ISBN 0-88968-354-9, The Charlton Press, Toronto
3. "Special Wrap Circulation Coin Roll - 50 Cent - Mintage: 10,000 (2012)". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
4. "Royal Canadian Mint". Archived from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
5. "Royal Canadian Mint". Archived from the original on June 22, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
6. Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, W.K. Cross, Editor, p. 143, ISBN 0-88968-297-6, The Charlton Press, Toronto
7. "From sea to sea – the 50-cent coin". Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
8. Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, W.K. Cross, Editor, pp. 139–153, ISBN 0-88968-297-6, The Charlton Press, Toronto
9. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 53 1953(no mint mark) large date, straps". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
10. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 56 1959(no mint mark) horizontal shading". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
11. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 63 1965(no mint mark)". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
12. Michael, Thomas, ed. (July 29, 2016). 2017 Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000 (44th ed.). Krause Publications. p. 322. ISBN 978-1440246548.
13. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 75.1 1968(no mint mark)". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
14. "Canada 50 Cents KM# 75.2 1977(no mint mark)". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
15. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 75.3 1978(no mint mark) round jewels". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
16. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 185 1990(no mint mark)". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
17. "Canada 50 Cents KM# 208 1992(no mint mark)". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
18. ^ "Canada 50 Cents KM# 290 1997(no mint mark)". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
19. "Canada 50 Cents KM# 290b 1999 P". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
20. "Canada 50 Cents KM# 444 1952-2002P". Numismatic Guaranty Company. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
21. coins.ha.com
22. diverseequities.com

• 1870 establishments in Canada
• Coins of Canada
• Fifty-cent coins