2023 Gold Fifty Pence The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – Charles III

Charles became King on the 8 September 2022 following the death of his Mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Born 14 November 1948. Charles was the oldest person to become Monarch, aged 73 years old when he became King. His Coronation was on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey, and his wife became Queen Camilla.

Charles has been married twice. His first marriage was to Diana, Princess of Wales. They married in 1981 and divorced in 1996. They had two children: William, Prince of Wales and hier to the throne, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Charles' second marriage was to Queen Camilla in 2005.

Charles has a sister, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal; and two brothers: Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.

On coins, King Charles decided to use the English spelling of his name where his predecessors of the same name used the Latin Carolus.
Gold Fifty Pence Pieces were first issued by the Royal Mint in 1992 and have grown in popularity over the years. Most commemorative 50p pieces are now released as silver proof and gold proof to complement the circulation coins.

The Gold 50p is 22 carat and weighs 15.5g. The diameter is 27.3mm. The coins usually have a very limited edition mintage.

The 7-Sided 50p Coin

The circulation British Fifty Pence (50p) currency coin was introduced in October 1969 as part of the decimalisation of the British currency. It replaced the 10 shilling note, both being equivalent to half of one pound (£0.50). It is colloquially called the '50 pee'. The coin has 7 sides (heptagonal) but has rounded corners on each apex so that the coin will roll and work in vending machines.

Originally, the coin has a diameter of 30mm and weighed 13.5g, but in 1997 this was replaced with a smaller version of diameter 27.3mm and weight of 8g. The thickness was kept at 1.78mm. The coin is made of Cupro-Nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). The larger version was demonitised (i.e. ceased to be legal tender) in 1998.

All coins have an obverse featuring the portrait Queen Elizabeth II. There are three versions:

• 1969-1984 - Designer: Arnold Machin
• 1985-1997 - Designer: Raphael Maklouf
• 1998-2015 - Designer: Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS
• 2015 to date - Designer: Jody Clark

The reverse has shown a large variety of important UK milestones or people, and in doing so has made the coin very popular with collectors. Besides the coins intended for circulation, the Royal Mint have issued Silver (Proof and Proof Piedfort), Platinum and Gold proof versions of the 50 pence piece.The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.