1888 Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 1888 Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 60,000 made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1888
- Circulation mintage
- 60,000
- Value band
- Collector premium
- Composition
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver)
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 an 1888 Canadian 50 Cent worth?
With 60,000 struck, the 1888 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 12th lowest of the 125 circulating Canadian 50 cent coins we track. Collectors pay a collector premium even for worn examples. Sharp, uncirculated coins with no marks bring considerably more.
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 1888 Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- Yes, by the standards of Canadian 50 cent coins. With 60,000 struck, the 1888 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 12th lowest of the 125 circulating Canadian 50 cent coins we track.
- How many 1888 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 60,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1888 Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver). It weighs 11.62 g and measures 29.72 mm.
- Is the 1888 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 1888 50 cent coin in context
After another long pause, with no coins dated 1882 to 1887, London struck 60,000 50 cent pieces dated 1888. That was a small order even by Victorian standards and less than half the 1881-H run that came before it. The 50 cent piece was simply not a coin Canadians asked for in quantity. Quarters and smaller silver did most of the daily work. It was the first 50 cent order placed with London since 1871, as the Heaton mint had handled the two before it.
The low figure makes the 1888 a scarce date in its own right, ranked below only the 1890-H, the 1894, the 1871-H and the 1899 among Victoria's 50 cent pieces. It sits in the middle of a run of small orders. Only the 1890-H followed before 1892. Because the coins circulated for decades, survivors are usually well worn and a sharp 1888 is hard to find. Collectors building a Victorian date run tend to treat it as a semi key, a step below the great rarities but well above the common dates. It is also the only 50 cent date of the 1880s struck in London.
How to recognize it
Victoria's crowned bust faces left with VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA around it. On the reverse, 50 CENTS and 1888 sit inside the maple wreath, tied at the bottom with a crown above. There is no mint mark on this date, since London struck the whole run. On a worn coin, the repeated 8s can blur into each other, so check each digit under a magnifier. The coin is sterling silver, 11.62 g, with about 0.35 troy ounces of pure silver. The coin measures about 29.7 mm across and its wreath is tied with a ribbon at the base. Wear shows first on the queen's hair above the ear, on the crown and on the upper leaves of the wreath.
1888 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1888 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 12th lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1931 Canadian 50 Cent (57,581); the next more common is the 1904 Canadian 50 Cent (60,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 241 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 3.1 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1888 output was 2.5 times fewer than 1881 and 3 times the 1890 figure.
What to check on your 1888 Canadian 50 Cent
- Check the date first: silver Canadian 50 cent coins carry dates from 1870 to 1967; this one has 0.3456 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.
An 1888 carries a collector premium in any grade and the premium rises quickly with detail. The coin is scarce enough that altered dates are worth guarding against, so compare the digits with a known genuine example. Look for an original surface without polishing. Holes and repaired rims are common on Victorian silver of this size and lower interest sharply. Coins with an even gray tone and clear leaf veins are the ones collectors want most. A grading service can confirm the date and grade on any example that looks sharper than usual.
Victoria sterling 50 cents (1870 to 1901)
Canada's 50 cent piece begins in 1870, three years after Confederation, as the largest coin in the Dominion's first set of silver. American silver was circulating at a discount at the time, so the government shipped much of it out of the country and ordered its own 5, 10, 25 and 50 cent coins. Canada had no mint, so the work went to England. London struck most dates, while the private Heaton mint in Birmingham filled some orders and marked its coins with a small H. The obverse carries Leonard Charles Wyon's crowned portrait of Victoria inside VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA. The reverse puts 50 CENTS and the date inside a maple wreath with a crown above.
Each coin is sterling silver, 92.5 percent pure, weighing 11.62 g and measuring about 29.7 mm. That works out to roughly 0.35 troy ounces of pure silver, a heavy coin for a pocket. Orders were small and irregular. Only thirteen date and mint combinations exist for the whole reign, with long gaps such as 1873 to 1880 and 1882 to 1887 when no 50 cents were struck at all. Published mintages run from 450,000 for 1870 down to 20,000 for 1890-H, with 1894 and 1871-H also below 50,000.
By modern standards every Victorian 50 cent piece is scarce and nearly all of them carry a collector premium, even when worn smooth. Read the date first, then check the bottom of the reverse for an H. The keys are 1890-H, 1894 and 1871-H, with 1888 and 1899 not far behind. Most survivors circulated for decades, so clear hair strands and visible leaf veins are rare at any date. On a key date, study the digits under magnification, because altered dates and copies exist.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1888 |
| Circulation mintage | 60,000 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver) |
| Weight | 11.62 g |
| Diameter | 29.72 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
How many 1888 Canadian 50 cent pieces were made?
The published mintage is 60,000, all struck at the Royal Mint in London. It is one of the smaller Victorian figures and less than half the 150,000 of the 1881-H.
Does the 1888 50 cents have a mint mark?
No. The whole 1888 run came from London, which did not use a mint mark on Canadian coins. Only the Heaton mint in Birmingham added a letter, an H. A plain reverse is exactly what you should see on an 1888.
Mintage figures: 50-cent piece (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.