Hong Kong fifty-cent coin
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Hong Kong | |
Value | 0.50 HKD |
---|---|
Mass | 4.92 g |
Diameter | 22.5 mm |
Thickness | 1.72 mm |
Edge | Reeded |
Composition | Nickel-brass |
Years of minting | 1866 –1905, 1951 - presentsome years not minted, see text |
Catalog number | - |
Obverse | |
Design | Bauhinia |
Designer | Joseph Yam |
Design date | 1992 |
Reverse | |
Design | 50 with value in English and Chinese |
Designer | Joseph Yam |
Design date | 1992 |
The fifty-cent coin was first introduced as a .900 purity silver half dollar in 1866. These coins were 13.41 grams, with a diameter of 32 mm, thickness of 2 mm, and a reeded edge. The design was similar to the British trade dollar, except the image of Britannia was replaced by Queen Victoria. The dates of issue were 1866-67 with only 59,000 issued for both dates combined.
In 1890, a second issue of this coin was made, this time as a fifty-cent piece. The mintage years was from 1890–94 and 1902, 1904-05. The coin was reeded but reduced in size to 30.5 mm in diameter, but with an increase in weight to 13.48 grammes, but the thickness stayed the same at 2 mm. Metal composition was .800 silver.
No more of this denomination was minted until 1951 when a copper-nickel coin was issued. It was 23.5 mm in diameter, weighed 5.81 g and 2 mm in thickness. Until 1971, the reeding was with a security edge and from then onwards was just reeded. In 1977 a nickel-brass coin was issued which reduced the size of the coin. The bauhinia series, without the queen's portrait, was issued in 1993. In 1997 a commemorative coin was issued for the hand over of Hong Kong to China. It featured an ox.
Mintage years are as follows: 1951, 1958, 1960–61, 1963–68, 1970–75, 1977–80, 1990, 1993–95, 1997-98 and 2015.
Mintage
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/King_George_VI_Hong_Kong_50_Cents_1951.jpg/400px-King_George_VI_Hong_Kong_50_Cents_1951.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/King_George_VI_Hong_Kong_50_Cents_1951_Security_Edge.jpg/400px-King_George_VI_Hong_Kong_50_Cents_1951_Security_Edge.jpg)
Mintmarks
- H = Heaton
- KN = King's Norton
Year[1] | Mintage |
---|---|
1951 | 15,000,000 |
1958H | 4,000,000 |
1960 | 4,000,000 |
1961 | 6,000,000 |
1963H | 10,000,000 |
1964 | 5,000,000 |
1965KN | 8,000,000 |
1966 | 5,000,000 |
1967 | 12,000,000 |
1968H | 12,000,000 |
1970H | 4,600,000 |
1971KN | ??? |
1972 | 30,000,000 |
1973 | 36,800,000 |
1974 | 6,000,000 |
1975 | 8,000,000 |
1977 | 60,001,000 |
1978 | 70,000,000 |
1979 | 60,640,000 |
1980 | 120,000,000 |
1988 | 40,000 circulating. 20,000 proof. |
1990 | 27,000,000 |
1993 | ??? |
1994 | ??? |
1995 | ??? |
1997 | Ox commemorative. ??? circulating. 97,000 proof. |
1997 | Unknown |
1998 | Unknown |
2015 | Unknown |
2017 | Unknown |
References
[edit]- Ma Tak Wo 2004, Illustrated Catalogue of Hong Kong Currency, Ma Tak Wo Numismatic Co., LTD Kowloon Hong Kong. ISBN 962-85939-3-5
- ^ Krause, Chester L. (2001). Standard Catalog of World Coins. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. pp. 920. ISBN 9780873418843.