Rare & Collectable 50p Coins

This website is dedicated to the fifty pence coin and features detailed information for collectors and browsers alike. Mintage figures, artwork origins and estimated values of our wonderful seven sided coins. Find out what your fifty pence is worth.

A-Z 50p List Beatrix Potter 2012 Olympics

Fifty Pence Facts

• 50p coins are classed as legal tender up to the total of £10. A retailer has every right to refuse payment if there are more than ten pounds worth of fifty pence coins presented.
• The 50 pence piece has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s first introduction in 1969. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used. The latest design by Jody Clark was introduced in 2015.

• The word “fifty” comes from Saxon and was originally spelt “fiftie”. The word “pence” is simply the plural of “penny”
• The shape of a fifty pence piece (and indeed a twenty pence) is called an “equilateral curve heptagon”. This seven sided shape measures the same distance across the middle in any given direction.
• The original (1969-1996) 50p weighed 13.5 grams and had a diameter of 30 millimetres.
• A modern day 50p weighs 8 grams and is 27.5 millimetres in diameter.
• The 50p coin is made from 75% copper and 25% nickel, a mixture which is called cupronickel.
• A single coin press at The Royal Mint is capable of making up to 500 coins a minute (720,000 a day).
• Each coin is struck with at least 100 tonnes of force when it is minted.