1912 Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 1912 Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 285,867 made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1912
- Circulation mintage
- 285,867
- 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 a 1912 Canadian 50 Cent worth?
With 285,867 struck, the 1912 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 43rd 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 1912 Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- Yes, by the standards of Canadian 50 cent coins. With 285,867 struck, the 1912 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 43rd lowest of the 125 circulating Canadian 50 cent coins we track.
- How many 1912 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 285,867 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1912 Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver). It weighs 11.62 g and measures 29.72 mm.
- Is the 1912 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 1912 50 cent coin in context
The 1912 put God back on Canada's coins. After the outcry over the 1911 legend, which had dropped DEI GRA:, the dies were revised to read GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The Ottawa mint struck 285,867 50 cent pieces with the corrected legend, a bit more than the 209,972 of the year before. That legend then stayed on George V's coins for the rest of the reign. It is also the first George V 50 cent piece with the legend most people know from his coins.
For collectors the 1912 is the first coin of the standard George V type, the one that would run through 1936. It is a better date than the war years that followed, but more available than the 1911 and the 1914. It shows how small the 50 cent orders still were before the First World War. A short series of similar figures follows: 265,889 in 1913 and 160,128 in 1914. Owning both a 1911 and a 1912 tells the whole story of the legend change in two coins. The figures stayed modest until the war.
How to recognize it
George V's crowned and robed bust by Bertram Mackennal faces left inside GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The reverse shows 50 CENTS and 1912 within the maple wreath under a crown. Compared with the 1911, the legend is longer and DEI GRA: sits between the V and REX. The alloy is sterling at 92.5 percent silver, in a coin of 11.62 g. The 2 is a slim digit that can wear thin, so check it closely on a worn coin. The wreath and crown on the reverse are unchanged from 1911. Wear shows first on the crown jewels and the king's beard.
1912 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1912 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 43rd lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1989 Canadian 50 Cent (266,419); the next more common is the 1939 Canadian 50 Cent (287,976).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 51 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 15 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1912 output was 1.4 times the 1911 figure and about the same as 1913.
Over the 1910s the Mint produced 4.65 million 50 cent coins across 9 dates and varieties; the 1912 Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 6.1% of that.
What to check on your 1912 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.
The 1912 carries a collector premium as a pre war sterling date. It is a natural partner to the 1911 in any collection. Look for a coin with clear crown jewels and leaf veins. Most are worn, but the date is usually easy to read. Avoid cleaned coins, which show fine scratches in the fields. It is a better date than the 1916 to 1919 coins and a good example of a pre war sterling 50 cent piece. Coins with full crown detail are scarce.
George V sterling 50 cents (1911 to 1919)
Bertram Mackennal's crowned and robed portrait of George V, facing left, arrived on coins dated 1911 and it began with a row. The legend read GEORGIVS V REX ET IND: IMP:, leaving out DEI GRA:, the words that say the king rules by the grace of God. Many Canadians objected to these Godless coins and from 1912 the dies carried GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. On the reverse the maple wreath and crown carried on around 50 CENTS and the date.
The coins were still sterling silver, 11.62 g and about 29.7 mm, with roughly 0.35 troy ounces of pure silver, all struck in Ottawa. Output stayed in the low hundreds of thousands through 1914 and no 50 cent pieces are dated 1915. Then the First World War pushed demand up sharply: 459,070 in 1916, 752,213 in 1917, 754,989 in 1918 and 1,113,429 in 1919. The 1919 was the first 50 cent mintage over a million and the last in sterling, because the silver standard was lowered in 1920.
Start with the legend and the date. A 1911 is a one year type and easy to spot because DEI GRA: is missing. The 1914 has the smallest mintage of the sterling George V years, while 1917 to 1919 are the commonest and still turn up in old accumulations. All of these are silver, so even a worn coin is worth more than face value for its metal. Look at the king's crown, his beard and the tips of the maple leaves to judge wear; sharp crown jewels are the mark of a well preserved coin.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1912 |
| Circulation mintage | 285,867 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver) |
| Weight | 11.62 g |
| Diameter | 29.72 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
What changed on the 1912 50 cent piece?
The legend. The words DEI GRA:, left off in 1911, were restored, so the coin reads GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The design and metal stayed the same.
Is the 1912 rarer than the 1911?
No. The 1912 has a mintage of 285,867 against 209,972 for 1911. Both are sterling silver and carry a collector premium, but the 1911 draws extra interest as a one year type.
Mintage figures: 50-cent piece (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.