2012 Canadian 50 Cent Coin

Quick answers

Is the 2012 Canadian 50 Cent rare?

It is scarcer than most Canadian 50 cent coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.

How many 2012 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?

250,000 were struck for circulation.

What is the 2012 Canadian 50 Cent made of?

Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.9 g and measures 27.13 mm.

Is the 2012 Canadian 50 Cent still legal tender?

Yes. Canadian 50 cent coins are legal tender.

How to recognize it

The 2012 Canadian 50 Cent is round, 27.13 mm across and nickel-plated steel.

2012 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers

In mintage terms the 2012 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 40th lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 2007 Canadian 50 Cent (250,000); the next more common is the 1913 Canadian 50 Cent (265,889).

For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 58 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 13 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 2012 output was 1.4 times the 2011 figure and 1.5 times fewer than 2013.

Over the 2010s the Mint produced 5.25 million 50 cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 2012 Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 4.8% of that.

What to check on your 2012 Canadian 50 Cent

• Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2012 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.

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