1968 Canadian 50 Cent Coin
The 1968 Canadian 50 Cent is a Canadian 50 cent coin struck for circulation with 3.97 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1968
- Circulation mintage
- 3,966,932
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Nickel (99.9%)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1968 Canadian 50 Cent worth?
With 3.97 million made, the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent is common and worth face value in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins with full luster, recognized varieties and genuine errors interest collectors.
What would make yours worth more:
- Full uncirculated luster
- Original mint roll or set coins
- A recognized variety or genuine error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent rare?
- No. 3.97 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1968 Canadian 50 cent coins were made?
- 3,966,932 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent made of?
- Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 8.1 g and measures 27.13 mm.
- Is the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 50 cent coins are legal tender.
The 1968 50 cent coin in context
The 1968 is the first Canadian 50 cent piece in pure nickel. Silver had become too expensive to use in circulating coins and the 50 cent piece left silver behind along with the dime and quarter. The new coin was also smaller, at 27.13 mm instead of about 29.7 mm. It was lighter too, at 8.1 g. The mint struck 3,966,932, a step down from the 4,211,392 centennial wolves of 1967.
The change ended nearly a century of silver 50 cent pieces that began in 1870. It also marked the return of the coat of arms after the one year wolf design. For collectors, the 1968 is the first year of a type that ran until 2000. That gives it mild interest. Most people who find one in a jar are hoping for silver and are disappointed. The quickest check is a magnet: a 1968 nickel coin sticks firmly, while every earlier 50 cent piece does not. The jump to 7,113,929 in 1969 shows how quickly nickel coins replaced the hoarded silver.
How to recognize it
Arnold Machin's portrait of the queen in a tiara faces right with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse shows the complete coat of arms, scaled down to fit the smaller coin, with CANADA, 50 CENTS and 1968. The coin is pure nickel, 8.1 g and 27.13 mm, harder than silver and attracted to a magnet. Placed beside a silver 50 cent piece, it looks noticeably smaller and slightly grayer in tone. Wear shows on the tiara and the high points of the arms. The smaller diameter means it is easy to sort from the silver coins by size alone, even before you reach for a magnet.
1968 Canadian 50 Cent by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent ranks 117th lowest of 125 Canadian 50 cent dates and varieties from 1870 to 2022. The next scarcer is the 1975 Canadian 50 Cent (3.71 million); the next more common is the 1967 Canadian 50 Cent (4.21 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 P Golden Jubilee Canadian 50 Cent with 14.4 million, about 3.6 times as many. The scarcest is the 1932 Canadian 50 Cent with 19,213, 206 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1968 output was about the same as 1967 and 1.8 times fewer than 1969.
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 65.9 million 50 cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1968 Canadian 50 Cent accounts for 6.0% of that.
What to check on your 1968 Canadian 50 Cent
- Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1968 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.
A circulated 1968 is a face value coin. Bright uncirculated pieces, often from mint sets, draw a small premium as the first nickel year. Collectors putting together a run of nickel dates start here. Keep any 1968 that looks unusually sharp in a holder, since nickel shows marks easily. Nickel is hard and resists wear well, so many 1968 coins still look sharp after years in change. It is a good first coin for a run of nickel 50 cent pieces, which is easy to complete apart from a few lower mintage dates.
Nickel 50 cents (1968 to 2000)
With silver too costly for circulating coins, the 50 cent piece switched to pure nickel in 1968 and shrank to 27.13 mm and 8.1 g. Nickel is hard, wears well and sticks to a magnet. The complete coat of arms returned on the reverse, scaled down to fit. Machin's portrait of the queen ran through 1989 and Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait took over on coins dated 1990.
The 50 cent piece never became a popular coin in Canada. Most people paid with quarters and dollars, so after a peak of 7,113,929 in 1969 mintages settled at two to three million and then fell further. From 1987 the coin was struck in much smaller numbers, often under half a million a year. A few dates stand out: 1977 at 709,839, 1988 at 220,000 and 1990 at 207,000. The 1992 coins carry the double date 1867 and 1992 for the 125th anniversary of Confederation. In 1997 the reverse was updated to the revised arms, with the ribbon of the Order of Canada around the shield.
For most finders these are face value coins, but low mintage years from the late 1980s and 1990s draw a small premium in uncirculated condition, since many were made mainly for mint sets and rolls. Collectors also look for small die varieties noted in the data, such as square and round jewels in 1978 and small and large beads in 1982. Wear shows on the queen's hair and the fine lines of the arms. Coins with bright luster and few bag marks are the ones to keep.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1968 |
| Circulation mintage | 3,966,932 |
| Composition | Nickel (99.9%) |
| Weight | 8.1 g |
| Diameter | 27.13 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1968 Canadian 50 cent piece silver?
No. The 1968 is pure nickel, 8.1 g and 27.13 mm. It sticks to a magnet, unlike the silver 50 cent pieces dated 1967 and earlier, which are larger and not attracted to a magnet.
Why did the 50 cent piece get smaller in 1968?
The switch from silver to pure nickel came with a smaller coin of 27.13 mm and 8.1 g. The dime and quarter kept their sizes in nickel, but the 50 cent piece and the dollar both shrank.
Mintage figures: 50-cent piece (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.