The
British decimal
Coin – often pronounced "fifty pee" – was issued on
October 14 ,
1969 in the run-up to decimalisation to replace the
Ten Shilling Note .
The coin is minted from an
Alloy of 75%
Copper and 25%
Nickel . Between 1969 and 1997 the coin weighed 13.50 grams and had a diameter of 30.0 millimetres. In 1997 the coin was reduced in size to weigh 8.00 grams with a diameter of 27.3 millimetres. Apart from the reduction in size the design remained essentially the same (although the original is no longer legal tender). The coin is not circular but is an
Equilaterally Curved Heptagon to aid identification. The sides are not straight but are curved so that the centre of curvature is the opposite apex of the coin, allowing the coin to roll freely and have its diameter measured correctly in
Slot Machine s (see also
Curve Of Constant Width ). This shape was also later used for the
Twenty Pence Piece .
This denomination has frequently been used for commemorative purposes, and consequently there are more design variations in this coin than in any other current British denomination (except for the
£2 Coin , if one includes earlier commemorative issues).
The normal reverse of the coin, designed by
Christopher Ironside , depicts the seated
Britannia with a
Lion , with the numeral "50" beneath, and either
NEW PENCE (1969-1981) or
FIFTY PENCE (since 1982) above Britannia.
Three different obverses have been used so far – from 1969 to 1984 the head of Queen
Elizabeth II by
Arnold Machin , from 1985 to 1997 the head by
Raphael Maklouf , and since 1998 the head by
Ian Rank-Broadley .
Up to 2007 there have been seventeen varieties of 50p coin, six large and eleven small, as follows.
