Fifty pence (British coin) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Fifty pence

United Kingdom
Value	£0.50
Mass	(1969–1994) 13.5 g (1997–pres.) 8.0 g
Diameter	(1969–1994) 30.0 mm (1997–pres.) 27.3 mm
Thickness	(1969–1994) 2.5 mm (1997–pres.) 1.78 mm
Edge	Plain
Composition	Cupro-nickel
Years of minting	1969–present
Obverse
Design	Queen Elizabeth II
Designer	Jody Clark
Design date	2015
Reverse
Design	Seated Britannia alongside a lion
Designer	Christopher Ironside
Design date	1969
Design discontinued	2008
Design	Segment of the Royal Shield
Designer	Matthew Dent
Design date	2008

The British fifty pence coin, often called 50p, is a type of money used in the UK. It's worth half of one pound. Since it was first made in 1969, the front (called the obverse) has always shown the Monarch's face. As of 2022, five different pictures of the monarch have been used on the coin.

By March 2013, there were about 920 million 50p coins being used. This coin is very popular with coin collectors because it has featured many different designs. Some designs are for everyday use, while others celebrate special events.

Fifty pence coins are considered legal tender for amounts up to £10. This means you can use them to pay debts up to that amount. However, for daily shopping, shops can choose which types of payment they accept.

The Story of the 50p Coin

In 1967, the Royal Mint (where coins are made) wanted to create a new coin. They noticed that the 10-shilling paper note didn't last very long, only about five months! A coin, which could last for fifty years, would be much cheaper to use.

Why the 50p Coin is a Special Shape

Coins usually have a specific weight-to-value ratio. This helps people weigh bags of coins to find their total value. Also, coins need to be easy to tell apart by sight and touch. Older coins used different metals and edges (smooth, milled, or 12-sided) to do this.

The Royal Mint couldn't find a new metal that looked different enough from existing coins and wouldn't tarnish. Since the new 50p coin would be the most valuable coin in everyday use, it needed to stand out.

They thought about different shapes. A hole in the coin wouldn't work because the Queen's head must be on British coins. Wavy or square coins also wouldn't work with the coin-handling machines used in shops and banks. For machines, a coin needs to roll and have the same width no matter how it's measured.

Hugh Conway, an engineer on the Decimal Currency Board, found a mathematical idea for a shape that wasn't round but had a constant width. A designer named Colin Lewis then came up with a simpler idea: a shape with an odd number of sides, like a triangle but with curved edges.

Hugh Conway chose seven sides. This was a good balance between being too unusual for people to accept and having too many sides, which would make it look too much like a circle. This seven-sided shape was drawn and tested. It could roll and fit into machines. The new 50p coin was the first coin of the new decimal system. It was released before "Decimal Day" (when the UK officially switched to decimal money) and was initially worth 10 shillings.

Early Reactions to the New Shape

When the 50p coin was released on October 14, 1969, some people were confused. They sometimes mistook it for the round 10p or Half Crown coins. Some people even called it "ugly" and "an insult to our sovereign."

The unique shape of the coin is called an "equilateral-curve heptagon" or a "Reuleaux polygon." This means its width is always the same, no matter how you measure it across.

In 1997, the 50p coin was made smaller and thinner. The older, larger coins were taken out of circulation by February 1998. The pictures on the coins stayed the same. The smaller 50p shape was also used for the 20p coin, which came out in 1982.

What's on the 50p Coin?

Coins have two main sides: the "obverse" (heads) and the "reverse" (tails).

The Obverse (Heads Side)

The obverse of the 50p coin always shows the head of the current monarch. For Queen Elizabeth II, four different portraits were used:

• From 1969 to 1984, a portrait by Arnold Machin was used. The Queen wore the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara.
• Between 1985 and 1997, a portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used. Here, the Queen wore the George IV State Diadem.
• From 1998 to 2015, the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was featured, showing the Queen again with the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara.
• From 2015 to 2022, coins showed a portrait by Jody Clark, where the Queen wore the George IV State Diadem.

After Queen Elizabeth II passed away, a special 50p coin was released on October 3, 2022. This was the first 50p coin to feature the portrait of King Charles III. This new portrait was designed by Martin Jennings.

The Reverse (Tails Side)

Standard reverse: 1982–2008. This shows Britannia seated with a lion.

The original reverse design, used from 1969 to 2008, was created by Christopher Ironside. It shows Britannia sitting next to a lion. She holds an olive branch and a trident. Above her, it said "NEW PENCE" (1969–1981) or "FIFTY PENCE" (1982–2008), with the number 50 below.

In 2005, the Royal Mint held a competition to find new designs for many UK coins. Matthew Dent won, and his designs started appearing in mid-2008. His idea was to show parts of the Royal Shield on different coins. When you put them all together, they form the whole shield. The 50p coin shows the bottom part of the Royal Shield, with "FIFTY PENCE" written below it.

Special 50p Coin Designs

Besides the regular designs, many special 50p coins have been made to celebrate important events. These are often collected by people who enjoy coins.

Year on coin	Event	Design	Designer	Mintage
1973	United Kingdom joining the European Economic Community	Nine hands clasping each other, showing the nine member countries, with "50 PENCE" and the date.	David Wynne	89,775,000
1992–93	UK's role in the Single European Market	Twelve stars linked by lines to twelve chairs, with "UK" on one chair, and dates "1992" and "1993".	Mary Milner Dickens	109,000
1994	50th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings	A picture of the Allied invasion force heading to Normandy, filling the sea and sky. This was the last large 50p coin.	John Mills	6,705,520
1998	50th Anniversary of the National Health Service	Hands against radiating lines with "FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY" and "NHS" repeated.	David Cornell	5,001,000
2000	150th Anniversary of the Public Libraries Act 1850	Turning pages of a book, dates "1850" and "2000", and a library building.	Mary Milner Dickens	11,263,000
2003	100th Anniversary of the Women's Social and Political Union	A suffragette chained to railings, holding a banner, with "GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE".	Mary Milner Dickens	3,124,030
2004	50th Anniversary of Roger Bannister's first four-minute mile	Legs of a running athlete with a stopwatch in the background.	James Butler	9,032,500
2005	250th Anniversary of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary	Entries from the dictionary for "FIFTY" and "PENCE".	Tom Phillips	17,649,000
2006	150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross (1)	Shows the front and back of a Victoria Cross medal.	Claire Aldridge	12,087,000
2006	150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross (2)	A soldier carrying a wounded friend, with a Victoria Cross outline.	Clive Duncan	10,000,500
2007	Centenary of the Scouting Movement	A fleur-de-lis over a globe, with "BE PREPARED" and dates "1907" and "2007".	Kerry Jones	7,710,750
2009	250th Anniversary of Kew Gardens	The pagoda at Kew Gardens encircled by a vine.	Christopher Le Brun	210,000
2010	100 Years of Girlguiding UK	A hexagon made of six shamrock symbols of Girlguiding.	Jonathan Evans and Donna Hainan	7,410,090
2011	Great Britain hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics	29 different designs showing Olympic and Paralympic sports.	Various	See below
2013	100th Anniversary of Christopher Ironside's birth	Ironside's original design for the 50p coin, showing the Coat of arms of the United Kingdom.	Christopher Ironside	7,000,000
2013	100th Anniversary of Benjamin Britten's birth	The composer's name written across musical bars.	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 with planes flying above.	Gary Breeze	5,900,000
2016	Team GB	A swimmer with the Team GB logo for the 2016 Summer Olympics.	Tim Sharp	6,400,000
2016	Battle of Hastings	King Harold hit in the eye with an arrow, from the Bayeux Tapestry.	John Bergdahl	6,700,000
2016	150th Anniversary of Beatrix Potter	A portrait of Beatrix Potter with her name and dates.	Emma Noble	6,900,000
2016	Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit	An image of Peter Rabbit and his name.	Emma Noble	9,700,000
2016	Beatrix Potter: Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle	An image of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and her name.	Emma Noble	8,800,000
2016	Beatrix Potter: Squirrel Nutkin	An image of Squirrel Nutkin and his name.	Emma Noble	5,000,000
2016	Beatrix Potter: Jemima Puddle-Duck	An image of Jemima Puddle-Duck and her name.	Emma Noble	2,100,000
2017	300th Anniversary of Sir Isaac Newton's Gold-Standard Report	A stylised sun with three planetary orbits.	Aaron West	1,800,000
2017	Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit	An image of Peter Rabbit and the words "The Tale of Peter Rabbit".	Emma Noble	19,900,000
2017	Beatrix Potter: Mr. Jeremy Fisher	An image of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (a frog) and his name.	Emma Noble	9,900,000
2017	Beatrix Potter: Tom Kitten	An image of Tom Kitten and his name.	Emma Noble	9,500,000
2017	Beatrix Potter: Benjamin Bunny	An image of Benjamin Bunny and his name.	Emma Noble	25,000,000
2018	100th Anniversary of the Representation of the People Act	A crowd of voters, showing the change in voting rights.	Stephen Taylor	9,000,000
2018	60th Anniversary of the first Paddington Bear story book.	An image of Paddington Bear sitting inside Paddington Station.	David Knapton	5,001,000
2018	Paddington at the Palace	An image of Paddington Bear holding the Union Flag in front of Buckingham Palace.	David Knapton	5,901,000
2018	Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit	An image of Peter Rabbit in his blue jacket eating carrots.	Emma Noble	1,400,000
2018	Beatrix Potter: Flopsy Bunny	An image of Flopsy Bunny in her red cape.	Emma Noble	1,400,000
2018	Beatrix Potter: The Tailor of Gloucester	A mouse on a reel of thread, reading a newspaper.	Emma Noble	3,900,000
2018	Beatrix Potter: Mrs Tittlemouse	An image of Mrs Tittlemouse carrying her basket.	Emma Noble	1,700,000
2019	160th Anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birth	An image of Sherlock Holmes surrounded by book titles.	Stephen Raw	8,602,000
2019	Paddington at The Tower of London	An image of Paddington Bear holding a marmalade sandwich outside Tower of London.	David Knapton	9,001,000
2019	Paddington at St Paul's Cathedral	An image of Paddington Bear raising his hat in front of St Paul's Cathedral.	David Knapton	9,001,000
2020	Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union	The slogan "Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations" and the date "31 January 2020".		10,001,000
2020	Diversity Built Britain	The slogan "Diversity Built Britain" on a structure of interconnected triangles.	Dominique Evans	10,300,000
2022	The Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen	A large number 70 with her Royal cypher.	Osborne Ross	5,000,070
2022	50 years of Pride	Five rainbows (symbol of the LGBTQ+ community) with words like "PRIDE" and "UNITY".	Dominque Holmes	5,000,000
2022	Commemorating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II	King's Crown surrounded by shields and national symbols. This was the first 50p with King Charles III's portrait.	Edgar Fuller & Cecil Thomas	9,600,000

Many other special 50p coins have been made for collectors, not for general use. These include designs celebrating:

• The Snowman (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
• The Gruffalo (2019)
• Stephen Hawking (2019)
• More Beatrix Potter characters (2019, 2020)
• Wallace and Gromit (2019)
• Dinosaurs (2020, 2021)
• Rosalind Franklin (2020)
• Winnie the Pooh and friends (2020, 2021, 2022)
• Decimalisation (2021)
• Team GB for the Olympics (2021)
• Charles Babbage (2021)
• Insulin discovery (2021)
• 2022 Commonwealth Games (2022)
• The BBC (2022)

How Many 50p Coins Are There?

The Royal Mint keeps track of how many coins are made each year. This is called the "mintage."