Fifty pence (British coin)

In 1967 the Deputy Master of the Royal Mint approached the Decimal Currency Board to ask for their advice on the introduction of a new coin. The 10-shilling note then in use was lasting only five months, and it had been suggested that a coin, which could last fifty years, would be more economical. The problem with this was that all coins are arranged in "tiers", each coin in a tier having the same weight-to-value ratio so that a bag of mixed coins could be weighed to ascertain the value so long as they were all bronze, all silver, etc. He had found in a mathematical textbook a formula for a non-circular shape of constant breadth and asked the design office at Patchway, near Bristol, which normally worked on the engines for aircraft such as Concorde, Vulcan and Harrier to draw out the shape. As the coin was released before Decimal Day it was initially worth 10/- (and therefore 120d). When the Decimal Currency Board met, none of the other members had any suggestion to make, so when the samples were produced the idea was accepted without opposition. ==Design==

It was the first seven-sided coin in the world. or Reuleaux polygon, The shape of the original 50p coin was also used for the 20p coin, introduced in 1982, but in a smaller size. ===Obverse (Heads)=== For Queen Elizabeth II, four different obverses have been used. In all cases, the inscription is , where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting; some additionally has the denomination, , before the year (as these coins omit the denomination on the reverse entirely). As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, ===Reverse (Tails)=== The reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, and used from 1969 to 2008, is a seated Britannia alongside a lion, holding an olive branch in her left hand and a trident in her right, accompanied by either NEW PENCE (1969–1981) or FIFTY PENCE (1982–2008) above Britannia, with the numeral 50 underneath the seated figure. His original but unused design, of the Royal Arms with supporters was released as a variation in 2013. In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008. 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 was featured on the now-obsolete round £1 coin. The 50p coin depicts the lowest point of the Shield, with the words FIFTY PENCE below the point of the shield. The coin's obverse remains unchanged. In October 2023 the King Charles III fifty-pence coin was presented; the coin features an Atlantic salmon. ==Variations==

In addition to the standard designs there have been several variant reverse designs used on the 50p coin to commemorate important events. These are summarised in the table below. The following coins were produced by the Royal Mint as commemorative releases only, without being intended for release into circulation: There are also other variants not listed here which were minted by other Mints, such as Pobjoy Mint ==Mintages==

Mint sets have been produced since 1982; where mintages on or after that date indicate 'none' or 'Proof only', there are examples contained within those sets. ==References==