Queen Elizabeth II’s reign witnessed a number of significant cultural and societal changes, including decimalisation in 1971. Spanning an impressive 70 years, Elizabeth II’s reign secured her the accolade of being the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her reign witnessed several significant changes in the United Kingdom that included decimalisation in 1971, which makes her the only monarch in British history to have had both a pre-decimal and decimal coinage.

Introduced in 1969, the 50p coin was revolutionary for its unique equilateral heptagon shape, designed to make it easier to roll in vending machines. Its large surface area leant itself well to commemorative designs and it is often credited as being the gateway coin to starting a collection. These larger 50p coins were removed from circulation in 1997 and were replaced with the smaller variant of the coin that remains in circulation today.

This coin is also available as part of The Making of Modern Britain Queen Elizabeth II Decimal Bundle, which offers collectors the opportunity to own an example of each of the decimal denominations of Elizabeth II’s reign.

*Packaging Image is for example only