2001 P Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 389,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2001
- Circulation mintage
- 389,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Nickel-plated steel
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent worth?
At 389,000, the 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent has a smaller run than most Canadian 50 cent coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Full uncirculated luster
- Original mint roll or set coins
- A recognized variety or genuine error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- It is scarcer than most Canadian 50 cent coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2001 P Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 389,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.9 g and measures 27.13 mm.
- Is the 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 50 cent coins are legal tender.
The 2001 50 cent coin in context
The 2001-P is the first plated steel 50 cent piece. To cut costs, the Royal Canadian Mint replaced solid nickel with a steel core plated with other metals and marked the new coins with a small P, for plated, under the portrait. The coin dropped to 6.9 g from 8.1 g while keeping the 27.13 mm diameter. The mint struck 389,000. Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait was still on the obverse. Other Canadian coins made the same move around this time.
That figure reflects the coin's quiet role. By 2001 the 50 cent piece was produced mainly for mint sets and rolls, with little real use in change. The P made it easy to tell the new composition at a glance and it was carried on the 2002 Golden Jubilee coins that followed. Plated steel has been the standard for the 50 cent piece since. For collectors, the 2001-P is the first of a type that runs to the end of the Elizabeth II series. It also shows how the denomination had become more of a collector item than a working coin.
How to recognize it
Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait of the queen faces right with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA and a small P below it. The reverse shows the revised coat of arms, with the Order of Canada ribbon around the shield, along with CANADA, 50 CENTS and 2001. It is plated steel, weighing 6.9 g with a diameter of 27.13 mm. Both plated steel and nickel coins stick to a magnet, so the P and the weight are the way to tell them apart. The steel core makes the coin lighter but it looks almost identical to a nickel coin. An accurate scale is the surest way to confirm what you have, along with the P.
2001 P Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent ranks 53rd lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1997 Canadian 50 Cent (387,000); the next more common is the 1993 Canadian 50 Cent (393,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 37 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 20 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2001 output was 1.4 times fewer than 2000 and 37 times fewer than 2002.
Over the 2000s the Mint produced 16.3 million 50 cent coins across 8 dates and varieties; the 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 2.4% of that.
What to check on your 2001 P Canadian 50 Cent
- Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2001 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Look for full luster and no scratches. Modern 50 cent coins only interest collectors in uncirculated condition or with a recognized variety.
A 2001-P is a face value coin in circulated condition. Uncirculated examples from sets or rolls draw a small premium as the first plated year. Plated steel shows scratches and can spot, so keep coins in holders. Clean fields and crisp arms mark the best examples. For a type set, the 2001-P shows the start of plated steel and the P mark on the 50 cent piece. Its mintage of 389,000 was small for a first year, so uncirculated examples are worth keeping. Watch for rust spots on damaged coins.
Plated steel 50 cents (2001 to 2022)
To cut costs the Royal Canadian Mint moved the 50 cent piece to plated steel in 2001. The new coin weighs 6.9 g against 8.1 g for nickel, keeps the 27.13 mm diameter and carries a small P, for plated, under the portrait. Both kinds are magnetic, so weight and the P are what tell them apart. Every 2002 coin carries the double date 1952 and 2002 for the queen's Golden Jubilee. Susanna Blunt's uncrowned portrait replaced de Pédery-Hunt's crowned one in 2003.
By this time the 50 cent piece was barely seen in daily change. It was struck mainly for mint sets and for collectors who buy coins in rolls, which explains the small figures. The 2002 Golden Jubilee issue is the great exception at 14,440,000. After that, reported mintages drop to 200,000 in 2005, 98,000 in 2006 and between 150,000 and 250,000 for most years to 2012. Production then rose steadily to 875,000 in 2017, the year of Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, before settling at 750,000 and then 375,000.
Low mintage does not always mean rare here. Many of these coins were saved in sets and rolls from the start, so survivors are in fine condition and most trade at face value or a small premium. The dates worth noticing are 2006, the lowest of the modern run, followed by 2009 and 2010. Keep coins fresh from a roll in a holder, since plated steel shows scratches. Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, ending a run of her portraits on the 50 cent piece that began in 1953.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2001 |
| Circulation mintage | 389,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 6.9 g |
| Diameter | 27.13 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
What does the P mean on a 2001 50 cent piece?
P stands for plated. It marks coins with a plated steel core instead of solid nickel. The plated coin weighs 6.9 g against 8.1 g for the earlier nickel 50 cent piece.
Is the 2001-P 50 cents magnetic?
Yes. Its steel core is strongly magnetic. The earlier nickel 50 cent pieces are also attracted to a magnet, so weight and the P are the reliable ways to identify a plated 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.