Guide to Collecting 50p

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How to collect 50p

The British Fifty Pence (50p) is a 7-sided coin that 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 was resized in 1997. There's about one billion 50p pieces in current circulation.

Many people collect 50p coins and they start with what they find in their change. I hear many lucky stories! The rush maybe started with the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p which had a very low mintage and now sells for over £100. You can see 50p on eBay UK (affiliate link)

Which 50p to look for?

The lowest mintage 50p are:

(These are coins in our database, list may not be exhustive)

2020 Hylaeosaurus 50p - Dinosauria (Colourised) (mintage: 3,000)
2023 Fifty Pence NHS 75 Years Charles III (mintage: 3,500)
2023 Fifty Pence The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Charles III (mintage: 5,000)
2022 50 Pence Coin - Commonwealth Games Team Northern Ireland Coloured BU (mintage: 5,010)
2022 50 Pence Coin - Commonwealth Games Team Scotland Coloured BU (mintage: 5,010)
2022 Commonwealth Games Team Wales Coloured BU 50p (mintage: 5,010)
2022 Eeyore 50p - Winnie the Pooh (mintage: 6,000)
2020 50 Pence Coin - Dinosauria: Iguanodon (Colourised) (mintage: 7,000)
2024 Star Wars Fifty Pence - Millennium Falcon (mintage: 7,500)
2022 50 Pence Coin - Commonwealth Games Team England Coloured BU (mintage: 7,510)

Coins in the 50p Category

		Elizabeth II (1952-2022)
		Charles III (2022-Present)

More Information about 50p coins for Collectors

The British Fifty Pence (50p) 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.

There are four versions of the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II:

1969-1984 - Designer: Arnold Machin
1985-1997 - Designer: Raphael Maklouf
1998-2015 - Designer: Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS
2015-2022 - 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 (normal and Piedfort), platinum and gold proof versions of the 50 pence piece.

There are also 29 different variants which were minted in 2011 in celebration of the 2012 Summer Olympics.