Fifty pence (British coin)
| United Kingdom | |
| Value | 0.50 pound sterling |
|---|---|
| Mass | (1969–1994) 13.5 g (1997–present) 8.0 g |
| Diameter | (1969–1994) 30.0 mm (1997–present) 27.3 mm |
| Thickness | 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 | Segment of the Royal Shield |
| Designer | Matthew Dent |
| Design date | 2008 |
The British decimal fifty pence (50p) coin – often pronounced fifty pee – is a unit of currency equaling one half of a pound sterling. It is a seven-sided coin formed as an equilateral-curve heptagon, or Reuleaux polygon, a curve of constant width, meaning that the diameter is constant across any bisection. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction in 1969. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008.
Twenty pence and fifty pence coins are legal tender only up to the sum of £10; this means that it is permissible to refuse payment of sums greater than this amount in 20p and 50p coins in order to settle a debt.
As of March 2014 there were an estimated 948 million 50p coins in circulation.
In 1967 the Deputy Master of the Royal Mint approached the Decimal Currency Board to ask for their advice on the introduction of a new coin. The 10 shilling note then in use was lasting only five months and it had been suggested that a coin, which could last fifty years, would be more economical. The problem with this was that all coins are arranged in "tiers", each coin in a tier having the same weight-to-value ratio so that a bag of mixed coins could be weighed to ascertain the value so long as they were all copper, all silver, etc. Each coin was identified within its tier by its size and each tier had to be capable of being identified by sight and touch. This was achieved in the then existing sets by the use of different materials ("copper", "bronze" and "silver") with the copper coins having plain rims, the bronze 3d bit being 12-sided and the silver coins having milled rims. If the 10-shilling coin was to be made in the same tier as the silver coins it would have to be twice the weight of the Crown (then and now only in use for commemorative pieces) and it was generally agreed that that would make it very unpopular and expensive. It would therefore have to be in a new tier of its own.
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