1958 Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 1958 Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 2.96 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1958
- Circulation mintage
- 2,957,266
- Value band
- Metal value
- Composition
- 80% silver, 20% copper
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1958 Canadian 50 Cent worth?
The 1958 Canadian 50 Cent is a silver coin with 0.3 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.3 times the day's silver spot price. With 2.96 million made, worn examples trade for about their silver; collectors pay more for sharp, original coins and much more for uncirculated ones with full luster.
What would make yours worth more:
- Sharp detail with original luster
- A recognized variety for the date
- Professional grading for a key date
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1958 Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- Not by mintage. 2.96 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1958 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 2,957,266 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1958 Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- 80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 11.66 g and measures 29.72 mm.
- Is the 1958 Canadian 50 Cent still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 50 cent coins are legal tender, but a silver one is worth more for its metal than its face value.
The 1958 50 cent coin in context
The 1958 is the last year of the large coat of arms reverse that George Kruger Gray designed for the 1937 coins. The mint struck 2,957,266, the largest figure since the wartime peak of 1943 and nearly six times the 506,305 of 1954. Canada's postwar economy was booming and the demand for coins grew with it. The coin still used Mary Gillick's laureate portrait of the queen, introduced in 1953. Its silver content was unchanged at 80 percent.
In 1959 the reverse was redrawn into a smaller design showing the complete arms, so the 1958 closes the first chapter of the coat of arms 50 cent pieces. Type collectors often pair it with the 1959 to show the change. The large mintage means the 1958 is easy to find and many were set aside when silver coins disappeared from circulation after 1968. It is not a rare date, but as a last year of design it has more appeal than its neighbors. Bright uncirculated examples are still fairly easy to locate. It also marks the end of a design used for twenty two years.
How to recognize it
Mary Gillick's laureate portrait of the queen faces right inside ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA. The reverse shows the large coat of arms, a simpler rendering of the Canadian arms than the one that followed, with CANADA, 50 CENTS and 1958. Compare it with a 1959 and the difference is clear: the 1958 arms fill more of the coin. It contains about 0.30 troy ounces of pure silver in an 11.66 g coin of 80 percent silver. Its diameter is about 29.7 mm. Wear shows first on the queen's hair and laurel leaves, then on the lion, unicorn and crown of the arms.
1958 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1958 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 108th lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1976 Canadian 50 Cent (2.94 million); the next more common is the 1959 Canadian 50 Cent (3.1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 4.9 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 154 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1958 output was 1.4 times the 1957 figure and about the same as 1959.
Over the 1950s the Mint produced 19.9 million 50 cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1958 Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 15% of that.
What to check on your 1958 Canadian 50 Cent
- Check the date first: silver Canadian 50 cent coins carry dates from 1870 to 1967; this one has 0.3 troy oz. Silver coins are not magnetic and ring clearly when dropped on a hard surface.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches that collectors spot at once and that cut the value of silver dates sharply.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the design. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older 50 cent coins.
The 1958 trades near its silver value in circulated grades, with a small premium for bright uncirculated coins. It is worth more than face value for its metal alone. Type collectors like it as the last large arms coin. Look for strong detail in the arms and few bag marks. Silver coins of this era turn up often in jars and inherited collections, so the 1958 is one of the most likely Gillick dates to find. Check it with a magnet: silver does not stick.
Early Elizabeth II silver 50 cents (1953 to 1958)
Elizabeth II first appears on Canadian 50 cent pieces dated 1953, the year of her coronation. Mary Gillick's portrait shows the young queen facing right with a laurel wreath in her hair and no crown, inside the legend ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA. The reverse kept the large coat of arms used under George VI. The coin was still 80 percent silver, 11.66 g, with about 0.30 troy ounces of pure silver.
The first portrait dies struck poorly, so the mint revised the design during 1953 and added a fold line to the gown at the shoulder. Collectors split the year into no shoulder fold and shoulder fold coins, with one mintage of 1,630,429 covering both. The rest of the period is a story of a growing economy. After a dip to 506,305 in 1954 and 753,511 in 1955, the figures climbed past a million in 1956 and reached 2,957,266 in 1958, the last year of the large arms reverse.
The 1954 and 1955 are the dates to look for here, with the 1953 varieties drawing specialist interest. Everything in this group is silver, so even common dates are worth more than face value for their metal. Silver coins vanished from change after the switch to nickel in 1968, but they still surface in jars and inherited collections. A quick test helps: silver does not stick to a magnet, while the later nickel and plated steel 50 cent pieces do. On these coins wear shows first on the queen's hair and the laurel leaves.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1958 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,957,266 |
| Composition | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| Weight | 11.66 g |
| Diameter | 29.72 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
What is different about the 1958 and 1959 50 cent pieces?
The 1958 has the large, simpler coat of arms used since 1937. The 1959 introduced a smaller design showing the complete arms with more heraldic detail. Placed side by side, the difference is easy to see.
Is the 1958 50 cent piece rare?
No. With 2,957,266 struck, it was one of the largest 50 cent mintages up to that time. It is worth more than face value for its silver and is popular as a last year coin.
Mintage figures: 50-cent piece (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.