1966 Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 1966 Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 7.92 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1966
- Circulation mintage
- 7,920,496
- 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 1966 Canadian 50 Cent worth?
The 1966 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 7.92 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 1966 Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- Not by mintage. 7.92 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1966 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 7,920,496 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1966 Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- 80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 11.66 g and measures 29.72 mm.
- Is the 1966 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 1966 50 cent coin in context
The 1966 is the last 50 cent piece with the regular coat of arms design struck in silver. The mint made 7,920,496, fewer than the 12,629,974 of 1965 but still a large run. A year later the centennial wolf took over the reverse and in 1968 the coin changed to nickel, so the 1966 closes a long line of silver arms coins that began in 1937. It still carries Arnold Machin's portrait of the queen in a tiara, introduced the year before.
Silver was getting too costly to keep in circulating coins. As silver prices climbed in the late 1960s, people began pulling these coins out of change and they soon disappeared from daily use. That makes the 1966 a common find in old jars and inherited collections, often in quite nice condition. Collectors who build a run of silver arms dates finish with the 1966 and many like it simply as the last regular silver 50 cent piece. In 1968 the switch to smaller nickel coins made the change permanent. For many Canadians who grew up in the 1960s, the 1966 was simply the 50 cent piece in their pocket.
How to recognize it
Machin's portrait of the queen in a tiara faces right inside ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse shows the complete coat of arms with CANADA, 50 CENTS and 1966. At 11.66 g of 80 percent silver, it holds about 0.30 troy ounces of the pure metal. On worn coins, check that the final 6 is clear. The 1966 is the same size as earlier silver coins, about 29.7 mm, noticeably bigger than the 27.13 mm nickel coins that followed. The reverse is the complete coat of arms introduced in 1959. Wear shows first on the tiara, the hair above the ear and the fine lines of the arms.
1966 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1966 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 121st lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1969 Canadian 50 Cent (7.11 million); the next more common is the 1963 Canadian 50 Cent (8.35 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 1.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 412 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1966 output was 1.6 times fewer than 1965 and 1.9 times the 1967 figure.
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 65.9 million 50 cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1966 Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 12% of that.
What to check on your 1966 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 1966 trades near its silver value, with a small premium for uncirculated coins. Its silver alone makes it worth more than face value. Look for coins with full luster and sharp detail on the tiara. Keep silver coins separate from later nickel ones, which stick to a magnet. It is a good coin to finish a set of silver arms dates from 1959. Coins with bright, unmarked surfaces are common enough that there is no need to settle for a worn one.
Last silver 50 cents (1959 to 1967)
In 1959 the reverse was redrawn. The large, simple coat of arms of 1937 to 1958 gave way to a smaller design showing the complete arms, with more heraldic detail packed into less space. That style, in one form or another, has been on the 50 cent piece ever since. Gillick's portrait stayed until 1964. In 1965 Arnold Machin's portrait replaced it, showing the queen in a tiara with the shorter legend ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA.
These were boom years. Mintages climbed from 3,095,535 in 1959 to 12,629,974 in 1965, the largest of the silver era. The coin stayed at 80 percent silver, 11.66 g, with about 0.30 troy ounces of pure silver. The 1966 was the last with the regular arms design in silver. For the centennial in 1967, the painter Alex Colville designed a one year reverse for every circulating coin and the 50 cent piece got a howling wolf with the dates 1867 and 1967. Unlike the dime and quarter, the 1967 50 cent piece stayed at 80 percent silver all year.
Nothing in this group is rare and most dates trade near their silver value, with a small premium for bright uncirculated coins. That still makes every one worth more than face value. Sort them by date and by reverse: complete arms for 1959 to 1966, the wolf for 1967. Silver coins of this era were pulled from circulation quickly after 1968, so they now turn up mostly in old jars, rolls and inherited collections. A magnet sorts them from later coins, since silver is not attracted to it.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1966 |
| Circulation mintage | 7,920,496 |
| Composition | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| Weight | 11.66 g |
| Diameter | 29.72 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1966 the last silver 50 cent piece?
It is the last with the regular coat of arms design in silver. The 1967 centennial wolf coin is also 80 percent silver, so the 1967 is the final silver year.
How can you tell a silver 50 cent piece from a nickel one?
Use a magnet and a ruler. Silver coins are not attracted to a magnet and measure about 29.7 mm, while nickel coins from 1968 stick to a magnet and measure 27.13 mm.
Mintage figures: 50-cent piece (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.