Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 50 Pence 1998-2009, KM# 991, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II
  • 50 Pence 1998-2009, KM# 991, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II
Description

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, a curve of constant width, meaning that the diameter is constant across any bisection.

Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

ELIZABETH·II·D·G REG·FD·2008
IRB

Reverse

Depicts a seated Britannia alongside a lion, accompanied by the value above Britannia, with the numeral 50 underneath the seated figure.

Although the archetypical image of Britannia seated with a shield first appeared on Roman bronze coins of the 1st century AD struck under Hadrian, Britannia's first appearance on British coinage was on the farthing in 1672, though earlier pattern versions had appeared in 1665, followed by the halfpenny later the same year.

Engraver: Christopher Ironside

FIFTY PENCE
50

Edge

50 Pence

4th portrait
KM# 991 Sp# H8
Characteristics
Material Cupronickel
Weight 8 g
Diameter 27.3 mm
Thickness 1.78 mm
Shape polygon
Sides 7
Alignment Medal
Alt # Sp# H24
Mint
Royal Mint

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