Australian 50 Cent Coins: Every 12-Sided Commemorative

From round silver to 12 sides

The first 50c of 1966 was round and made of 80% silver. Rising silver prices soon made the metal worth more than the face value, so it was quickly withdrawn. The 12-sided cupronickel coin replaced it in 1969, with Stuart Devlin's Australian coat of arms on the standard reverse.

The shape gives it away. No other Australian coin has 12 sides. Its size and weight let you pick it out of a handful of change before you even see the design.

Every commemorative 50c coin

The lowest mintage 50c coins

These are the commemoratives with mintages of three million or fewer, the ones most worth pulling from change.

• 2017 1967 Referendum and Mabo: 1,400,000
• 2001 Federation ACT and 2019 Year of Indigenous Languages: 2,000,000 each
• 2001 Federation Northern Territory: 2,100,000
• 2001 Federation Norfolk Island and Tasmania: 2,200,000 each
• 2001 Federation Queensland: 2,300,000
• 2024 NAIDOC 50th Anniversary: 2,310,000
• 2001 Federation South Australia and Western Australia: 2,400,000 each
• 2001 Federation Victoria: 2,800,000
• 2001 Federation New South Wales and 2014 AIATSIS 50th Anniversary: 3,000,000 each

The 2001 Centenary of Federation set

For the hundredth anniversary of Federation the Royal Australian Mint issued ten 50c designs. The national coin had 43,100,000 made. Each state and territory got its own design, as did Norfolk Island, with mintages from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000.

Building the full set from change is a favorite Australian challenge. The ACT coin, at 2,000,000, is usually the last to turn up, followed by the Northern Territory. New South Wales, at 3,000,000, is the easiest of the regional coins. The national design is everywhere, so don't mistake it for one of the scarce nine.

Commemoratives through the years

Commemoratives began in 1970 with the bicentenary of Captain Cook's voyage, 16,500,000 made. Royal events followed with the 1977 Silver Jubilee and the 1981 wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. The 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games coin, at 49,600,000, is the most common of them all.

• 1988 Bicentenary: 9,000,000
• 1991 25 Years of Decimal Currency: 4,700,000
• 1995 Weary Dunlop, for the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II: 15,900,000
• 2000 Royal Visit: 5,100,000, the scarce partner to the 16,600,000 Millennium coin
• 2004 and 2005 student designs by John Serrano and Kelly Just, the second for the Commonwealth Games
• 2016 50 Years of Decimal Currency: 7,000,000

Which 50c coins to keep

Anything at three million or under is worth setting aside, starting with the 2017 Referendum and Mabo coin and the 2001 ACT. The 1991 decimal anniversary and the 2000 Royal Visit are also scarcer than most of the older commemoratives. In circulated condition all of them sit at face value or a small premium. Sharp, unmarked coins and complete Federation sets do better. The everyday coat of arms 50c is face value, though it's still worth a glance at the date and design before you spend one. Keep commemoratives in a coin album or flips rather than a jar, where they rub against each other and pick up fresh marks.

Frequently asked questions