1967 Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 1967 Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 4.21 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1967
- Circulation mintage
- 4,211,392
- 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 1967 Canadian 50 Cent worth?
The 1967 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 4.21 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 1967 Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- Not by mintage. 4.21 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1967 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 4,211,392 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1967 Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- 80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 11.66 g and measures 29.72 mm.
- Is the 1967 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 1967 50 cent coin in context
For Canada's centennial in 1967, the painter Alex Colville designed a one year reverse for every circulating coin, each showing a Canadian animal. The 50 cent piece got a wolf, head raised in a howl, with the dates 1867 and 1967. The mint struck 4,211,392. The set was very popular and many people saved the coins as souvenirs, which is why the wolf 50 cents still turns up in old coin jars. The coin kept Arnold Machin's portrait of the queen on the obverse.
Behind the celebration, silver was becoming too expensive. The dime and quarter dropped to 50 percent silver partway through 1967, but the 50 cent piece stayed at 80 percent silver all year. In 1968 it switched to nickel and became smaller, so the 1967 wolf is the last silver 50 cent piece made for circulation. Colville's wolf is often called one of the most striking designs on any Canadian coin. It combines a strong image, a one year design and silver content, which makes it a favorite with collectors and casual finders alike.
How to recognize it
Alex Colville's wolf is shown with its head thrown back in a howl, with CANADA, 50 CENTS and the dates 1867 and 1967. The obverse is Machin's portrait of the queen in a tiara with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The coin is 80 percent silver, 11.66 g and about 29.7 mm, holding about 0.30 troy ounces of pure silver. Wear shows first on the wolf's head and back and on the tiara. The wolf is drawn in Colville's spare, modern style, which set the centennial coins apart from anything Canada had used before. The design leaves a lot of open field around the animal, so marks and scratches show clearly.
1967 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1967 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 118th lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent (3.97 million); the next more common is the 1962 Canadian 50 Cent (5.21 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 3.4 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 219 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1967 output was 1.9 times fewer than 1966 and about the same as 1968.
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 65.9 million 50 cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1967 Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 6.4% of that.
What to check on your 1967 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 1967 wolf is common and trades near its silver value, with a small premium for bright uncirculated coins. Many were saved in sets, so attractive examples are easy to find. It is worth more than face value for its silver. Look for sharp detail in the wolf's fur and few bag marks. Colville's design is popular with collectors outside Canada too. Keep a nice example in a holder, since the open field around the wolf shows every scratch. A complete set of the six centennial coins makes an attractive display.
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 | 1967 |
| Circulation mintage | 4,211,392 |
| Composition | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| Weight | 11.66 g |
| Diameter | 29.72 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the 1967 wolf 50 cent piece?
Alex Colville, the Canadian painter who created all six centennial reverses in 1967. The 50 cent piece shows a howling wolf with the dates 1867 and 1967. The other five showed a rock dove, a rabbit, a mackerel, a bobcat and a Canada goose.
Is the 1967 wolf 50 cents silver?
Yes. Unlike the 1967 dime and quarter, which dropped to 50 percent silver partway through the year, the 50 cent piece stayed 80 percent silver, with about 0.30 troy ounces of pure silver.
Mintage figures: 50-cent piece (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.