Australian 1977 Silver Jubilee 50 cent
One of the most popular Australian coins to collect is the 50 cent coin. And one of the most popular question about Australian coin values that we get is of course, about what is the value of Australian 50 cent coins that can be found in your change. That’s because the 50 cent coin is big, it has been issued with many different commemorative designs since it’s release in 1966 and the large size of the coin means the designs really stick out when you receive them in change. Sometimes you’ll get a 50 cent in your change and you’ll turn it over and Captain Cook will stare back at you and you’ll either have never seen one before or not have seen one for years and you’ll think….how much is that worth? It must be worth something right? It was minted 38 years ago and you almost never see them any more! Surely an old Australian 50 cent coin is worth some money? After all, some of them are more than 40 years old now!
Jaime Hernandez:. The 1974 Kennedy Half Dollar is a very common coin as the Mint struck a little over 200 million examples for circulation. The mintage is also more than double than that of the Denver struck Kennedy Half Dollars from the same year. Type: Kennedy Half Dollar Year: 1976 Mint Mark: No mint mark Face Value: 0.50 USD Total Produced: 234,308,000 Silver Content: 0% Numismatic Value: 50 cents to $2.50 Value: As a rough estimate of this coins value you can assume this coin in average condition will be valued at somewhere around 50 cents, while one in certified mint state (MS+) condition could bring as much as $3 at auction.
Well a lot of the time that fifty cent you don’t remember seeing before is usually worth…wait for…50 cents. Yes, 50c. Sad but true. See the thing is, a lot of these commemorative coins were minted, and when I say a lot I mean a lot. After all, they were intended to circulate so the Royal Australian Mint churned them out in their millions and tens of millions. The other problem is that the public at the time hoarded these things so there are tens of thousands of money boxes loaded down with uncirculated or near uncirculated examples of them. So sadly most Australian 50 cent coins are anything but rare. It’s worth having a look at the mintages of the commemorative 50 cent coins up until 2000 and the catalogue values of an uncirculated example (there have been a spate of them since then, and I don’t think it’s worth covering them). The mintages and CV’s are from the 2009 Pocket Guide to Australian Coin and Banknotes.
- 1970 Captain Cook Bicentenary 50 cent, mintage: 16,548,100, $7.00
- 1977 Silver Jubilee 50 cent, mintage: 25,067,000, $4.00
- 1981 Royal Wedding 50 cent (Charles and Diana), mintage: 20,000,000, $6.00
- 1982 Commonwealth Games 50 cent, mintage: 23,287,000, $4.00
- 1988 First Fleet Bicentenary 50 cent, mintage: 8,990,800, $15.00
- 1991 Decimal Anniversary 50 cent, mintage: 4,704,400, $10.00
- 1994 Year of the Family 50 cent, mintage: 20,830,800, $12.00
- 1995 Weary Dunlop 50 cent, mintage: 15,869,200, $7.00
- 1998 Bass and Flinders 50 cent, mintage: 22,426,000, $7.00
- 2000 Year 2000 Millennium 50 cent, mintage: 16,630,000, $7.00
So these are the prices you can expect to pay for an example of these coins. When you come to sell them expect considerably less. If your 50c coins are not truly uncirculated expect to get offered face value (though you may get a little more if you try selling them on eBay).
You’ll find that some normal circulation coins have much lower mintages than the commemorative coins, and the fact that they were not hoarded means they can be worth a little more. And before I get onto those, the 1966 round 50 cent is not rare and nor is it particularly valuable. It does have real silver in it though which is different to all the other 50 cent coins issued and makes it worth a bit even if it is a banged up circulated coin. So what is the round 50 cent coin worth? It depends on the silver price of the day. You could take a look at our Aussie silver coin value calculator to work it out.
Anyway, back onto the circulation issues. Truly uncirculated 50 cent coins from 1969 (cv $25), 1971 ($25), 1972 ($55), 1973 ($60), 1974 ($35), 1985 ($13), 1993 ($22) , and 1997 ($30) are all worth more than any commemorative 50c coin. In fact some of the mintages are small by comparison, the 1985 and 1993 coins had mintages of less than 1 million and may be worth putting away for the future if you find them even if they have been circulated. In, fact, these days hardcore decimal collectors are looking for the best quality uncirculated 50 cent coins they can find for their collections. So, if you do have a sparkling UNC 1973 50 cent coin you might get a bit of money for it if you list it up on an online auction site.
In the next issue of this series I’ll cover some rare and valuable 50 cent coins you can look for in your change. These wont show up too often but they are worth keeping an eye out for.
Other Australian Coin Values
Of course if you’re looking for the value of other Australian coins then you’re going to find some of our other articles helpful. You might find out value of Australian 20 cent coins article useful, or this one that talks about what Australian dollar coins are worth. We’ve even got a more general article about rare decimal coins you might find in your change. Of course Australia didn’t just mint coins, we’ve also produced banknotes and if you’ve got any old paper banknotes then you might want to find out what your old Australian paper banknotes are worth.
| Value | 0.50 Canadian dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | 6.9 g |
| Diameter | 27.13 mm |
| Thickness | 1.95 mm |
| Edge | Milled |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel 93.15% steel, 4.75% Cu, 2.1% Ni plating |
| Years of minting | 1870–present |
| Catalogue number | – |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada |
| Designer | Susanna Blunt |
| Design date | 2003 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Canadian coat of arms |
| Designer | Thomas Shingles |
| Design date | 1959, updated 1997 |
The fifty-cent piece (French: pièce de 50 cents) is the common name of the Canadiancoin worth 50 cents. The coin's reverse depicts the coat of arms of Canada. At the opening ceremonies for the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint, held on January 2, 1908, Governor General Earl Grey struck the Dominion of Canada's first domestically produced coin. It was a silver fifty-cent piece bearing the effigy of King Edward VII.
Though it is regularly minted, it is not made in large quantities (approximate annual average production of 150,000), and since 2004 has only been available to the public directly from the mint. It is very rare to encounter this denomination in everyday transactions, since there seems to be the mistaken belief among many Canadians that the coin itself is rare and thus of value in excess of 50 cents. Most times, when a 50-cent piece is exchanged in a transaction, it is saved by its recipient. People quite commonly, upon being presented with 50-cent pieces, question the legality of the coin, because of the non-circulating status of the denomination. The coin occupies a similar status to that of the United States half-dollar coin. Newer vending machines do not generally accept it, even when they accept coins of both higher and lower value, but many older machines that were retooled to accept loonies will misidentify a 50-cent piece as a loonie, thus allowing the value of the coin to be doubled.[citation needed]
A largely unsuccessful attempt was made by the Royal Canadian Mint to promote the use of the coin when a special edition was released in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne. After this failed promotion, the mint stopped distributing 50 cent pieces to banks, and now only sells them in rolls or in coin sets available directly from their Numismatic Department at twice their face value, or $25 per roll of 25 coins.[1][2]
The mint's website lists the 2007 coat of arms 50¢ piece as 'rarely seen yet replete with tradition'.[3][4]
History of composition[edit]
50 Cent Piece Crossword
| Years | Weight | Diameter | Thickness | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–present | 6.9 g | 27.13 mm | 1.95 mm | 93.15% steel, 4.75% copper, 2.1% nickel plating |
| 1980–1999 | 8.10 g | 27.13 mm | 1.9 mm | 99.9% nickel |
| 1968–1979 | 8.10 g | 27.13 mm | 1.93 mm | 99.9% nickel |
| 1920–1967 | 11.66 g | 29.72 mm | n/a | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| 1908–1919 | 11.62 g | 29.72 mm | n/a | 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper |
50 Cent Piece Box
[5][6]
1921 issue rarity[edit]
During the early to mid-1920s, demand for 50-cent pieces was minimal. Only 28,000 pieces were issued between 1921 and 1929. When greater demand for the denomination arose in 1929, the Master of the Ottawa Mint decided to melt the stock of 1920 and 1921 coins. It amounted to a total of 480,392 coins. The decision was due to the belief that the public would suspect counterfeits if a large number of coins dated 1920 and 1921 were placed into circulation. It is believed that 75 or so of the 1921 coins have survived, mainly from sets that were sold at the time.[7] Long known as the 'king of Canadian coins', this piece brings a price commensurate with its rarity and reputation, with a high grade example (PCGS MS-66) having sold for US$227,546 (this price includes buyers premium but not the taxes) in a January 2010 Heritage Auction.[8] The highest graded specimen is graded by PCGS at MS-67 and sold (by Diverse Equities[9]) in the year 2000 to a private collector for the then sum of US$400,000. Today this coin would most likely bring US$1 million at an auction.
Condition rarity: Almost all examples are found in good to very good condition, which means in heavily circulated condition. Based on the ICCS report of 2012 only 1 has been graded in fine condition. A total of 0 have been graded in very fine and 0 in extra fine. There are also 6 known in AU condition. Only 3 mint state examples of the King of Canadian coins exist making it extremely elusive and desirable. On average a mint state example comes up for sale once every 10 years and draws a lot of attention from wealthy buyers.
Values in very good (VG-8) and gem mint state (MS-65): As of 2012 the value is estimated at US$45,000 in very good condition and is estimated at US$250,000 to US$350,000 in gem mint condition. These are average trends calculated by using prices sold in the past few years.
50 Cent Pieces For Sale
2000-P issue rarity[edit]
The 2000-P 50-cent piece is another Canadian numismatic rarity. Approximately 276 of the 2000-P 50-cent pieces are known to have been minted. Each of these 276 coins was mounted in a clock as gifts to mint employees. This makes the 2000-P 50-cent coin one of the rarest Canadian half-dollars ever produced.
Commemorative editions[edit]
| Image | Year | Theme | Artist | Mintage | Special notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Canadian Centennial | Alex Colville | 4,211,395 | Features a howling wolf | |
| 2002 | Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II | Cathy Bursey-Sabourin | 14,440,000 | 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne. Obverse shows her royal cypher 'EIIR' instead of the usual 'Elizabeth II'. | |
| 2017 | Canada 150 | Ariana Cuvin | 875,000 | Features the Canada 150 logo |
First strikes[edit]
| Year | Theme | Mintage | Issue price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Coat of arms | 2,298 | $14.95 |
| 2006 | New mint mark | 5,000 | $29.95 |
References[edit]
50 Cent Piece 1966
- ^Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, Volume One, 67th Edition, W.K. Cross, Editor, p. 194, ISBN0-88968-354-9, The Charlton Press, Toronto
- ^Royal Canadian Mint
- ^Royal Canadian Mint
- ^Royal Canadian Mint
- ^'From sea to sea – the 50-cent coin'. Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
- ^Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, W.K. Cross, Editor, pp. 139–153, ISBN0-88968-297-6, The Charlton Press, Toronto
- ^Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, W.K. Cross, Editor, p. 143, ISBN0-88968-297-6, The Charlton Press, Toronto
- ^coins.ha.com
- ^diverseequities.com