1997 Large Britannia 50p Coin
The 1997 Large Britannia 50p is a Royal Mint collector issue that was never released into circulation. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1997
- Issued as
- Collector packs and sets only
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel)
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 1997 Large Britannia 50p worth?
No 1997 large 50p coin was issued for circulation: the Royal Mint struck that version only for its annual collector sets. A set coin that was spent can turn up in change, which is why the 1997 large coin is one collectors look for. Expect a small premium, more for coins still in the original set.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with no scratches
- A sets-only date or a low circulation year
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1997 Large Britannia 50p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50p coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.
- How many 1997 Large 50p coins were made?
- None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.
- What is the 1997 Large Britannia 50p made of?
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). It weighs 13.5 g and measures 30 mm, with a seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) shape.
- Is the 1997 Large Britannia 50p still legal tender?
- No. The original 30 mm 50p stopped being legal tender in 1998, after the smaller coin arrived in 1997.
The 1997 50p coin in context
The large 1997 is the last date of the original 30 mm 50p. None were made for circulation. The coin exists only in the Royal Mint's collector sets for that year, the final entry in a run of sets-only dates that began in 1986. By then the large coin's days were numbered. Its replacement, a smaller 50p, was introduced in September 1997. The sets for that year were the last chance to collect the big coin with a new date.
The decision to shrink the 50p came after years of complaints that the large coin was too heavy and bulky. The old size remained legal tender for a short overlap and ceased to be legal tender at the end of February 1998. Banks gathered up the large coins quickly, so within months they had vanished from change. That makes the large 1997 a farewell coin: the final date of a design that had been in British pockets since 1969, struck only for collectors. Plenty of people kept a large 50p or two as souvenirs, though those were mostly older dates.
How to recognize it
It looks exactly like the large coins before it. Ironside's Britannia sits with her lion, trident and olive branch and her Union Flag shield, under FIFTY PENCE with the numeral 50 below. Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen in the George IV State Diadem is on the obverse. The blank is the familiar large one, cupronickel at 30 mm and 13.5 g. The only way to tell it from a small 1997 is to measure it: the large one is a clear 2.7 mm wider. It also weighs 13.5 g against 8 g for the small coin, a difference you can feel in the hand. Put the two on a kitchen scale and the gap is plain.
The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.
1997 Large Britannia 50p by the numbers
No 1997 large 50p coins were struck for circulation, so none were paid out by banks. For comparison, nearby circulation dates were 1997 Small Britannia 50p (456.4 million), 1998 Britannia 50p (64.3 million), 1999 Britannia 50p (24.9 million) and 2000 Britannia 50p (27.9 million).
What to check on your 1997 Large Britannia 50p
- Confirm the date and the variety (large). 1997 large 50p coins came only from collector sets, so a genuine one is often in very good condition.
- Check the size: this date is the original 30 mm coin, which weighs 13.5 g, with seven curved sides.
- Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.
A large 1997 came only from sets, so collectors pay a small premium for a clean one to finish the large Britannia run. Most surviving examples are still in their original packaging. If yours is loose, check for fingerprints and scratches, which show readily on set coins. Make sure it really is the large size before celebrating. The small 1997 was struck in its hundreds of millions and is common. It is one of the more desirable sets-only dates because it closes the run of the original coin.
Maklouf portrait and the end of the large 50p (1985 to 1997)
Raphael Maklouf's portrait arrived on all British coins in 1985, showing the Queen wearing the George IV State Diadem, with his initials RDM under the bust. The reverse stayed the same: Ironside's seated Britannia with FIFTY PENCE above and the numeral 50 below, on the same 30 mm, 13.5 g cupronickel coin. What changed was demand. The country already held enormous numbers of large 50ps from the 1970s and early 1980s, so the Royal Mint struck very few new ones for change in these years.
In fact 1985 is the only date of this era with large 50ps made for circulation. Only 682,103 were struck. Every other large date from 1986 to 1993, plus 1995, 1996 and the large 1997, came only in collector sets. The year 1994 went to the D-Day commemorative design instead. The large coin had long drawn complaints for being heavy and bulky. In September 1997 the Royal Mint replaced it with a smaller version, 27.3 mm across and 8 g, with the same seven sides and the same Britannia. A huge run of the small coin replaced the old ones in a matter of months.
The large 50p ceased to be legal tender at the end of February 1998, so Maklouf large coins can only be kept, not spent. Small 1997 coins are still legal tender and turn up in change today. Measure before you do anything else: 30 mm means a large coin, 27.3 mm a small one. Large Maklouf coins found loose in old jars almost always started life in a broken set, since so few of them were ever paid out by banks.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1997 |
| Circulation mintage | None (collector issue) |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 13.5 g |
| Diameter | 30 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Maklouf |
Other 1997 50p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 Small Britannia 50p Coin | 456,364,100 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Are there two different 1997 50p coins?
Yes. The large 30 mm coin was struck only for collector sets, while the small 27.3 mm coin was made in huge numbers for circulation from September 1997. Both show Britannia and Maklouf's portrait.
Is the large 1997 50p still legal tender?
No. All 30 mm 50ps ceased to be legal tender at the end of February 1998. The large 1997 is a collector piece only, valued as the last date of the original size.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.