50 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th portrait Britannia (1998–2009)

One row for each year the 50 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th portrait – Britannia was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1998 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Britannia

The 1998 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Britannia is a circulating 50 pence coin issued from 1998 to 2009 in the Britannia Copper series, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 8g and measures 27.3mm across. Reverse design: A figure of Britannia seated beside a lion, with a shield resting against her right side, holding a trident in her right hand and an olive branch in her left, denomination below and legend above.

Mintage figures are recorded for 11 years between 1998 and 2008, 349,562,000 coins in all. 2008 is the scarcest date, with 3,500,000 struck.

Common questions

History and design

This is the everyday 50p of the late 1990s and 2000s: the small coin introduced in 1997, with the portrait of the Queen that came onto the coinage in 1998. It was struck for circulation in every year from 1998 to 2008, eleven dates in all, and the Royal Mint's figures for those years total 349,562,000 coins.

Output varied widely. The first year, 1998, produced 64,306,500 and 2001 was the peak at 84,998,500. Most other years fall between 23 million and 36 million. The run ends with two low years: 11,200,000 for 2007 and 3,500,000 for 2008, the lowest of the eleven.

2008 was the end of Britannia on the circulating 50p. She had been on the coin since it was introduced in 1969. That year the reverse changed to a section of the Royal Arms by Matthew Dent, and 22,747,000 coins of the new design were also struck dated 2008.

Christopher Ironside's reverse shows Britannia seated beside a lion, with a shield resting against her right side, a trident in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. FIFTY PENCE is above and the figure 50 below. The Royal Mint notes that a symbol of Britannia has appeared on the coinage since 1672.

The obverse has Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait, used from 1998 to 2015, with his initials IRB below. The Royal Mint says he wanted a more realistic image that would convey the wisdom and poise of the monarch, and designed it to fill as much of the coin as possible. The edge is plain.

Collecting notes

All eleven dates are legal tender and still circulate. By mintage, 2008 is the one to look for, then 2007. The remaining dates were struck in the tens of millions and are worth keeping only in high grade.

Two things are easily confused with this coin. The 1997 coin has the same reverse and size but the older Maklouf portrait. A 2008 50p may have either Britannia or the Royal Shield, so check the reverse before counting it as the low date.

A Britannia 50p dated 2009 is a collector coin. The Royal Mint marked 40 years of the 50p in 2009 with a collection of 16 reverse designs, all dated 2009, sold in base metal, silver and gold proof. None was issued for circulation.

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.