50 Pence - Elizabeth II 5th portrait Royal Shield (2015–2022)

One row for each year the 50 Pence - Elizabeth II 5th portrait – Royal Shield 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 2015 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Royal Shield

The 2015 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Royal Shield is a circulating 50 pence coin issued from 2015 to 2022 in the Royal Shield series, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 8g and measures 27.3mm across. Reverse design: Bottom section of the Royal Shield, denomination to lower segment.

Mintage figures are recorded for 8 years between 2015 and 2022, 219,248,702 coins in all. 2018 is the scarcest date, with 24,755 struck.

Common questions

History and design

This is the everyday 50p of the last years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The reverse had been in use since 2008, when Matthew Dent's shield designs replaced Christopher Ironside's across the coinage. What changed in 2015 was the other side: on 2 March the Royal Mint unveiled a new portrait of the Queen by Jody Clark, and coins with it went into production the same day.

Because the change came partway through the year, there are two Royal Shield 50p coins dated 2015. The Royal Mint's figures give 20,101,000 with the fourth portrait and 39,300,000 with the fifth.

After that, production was uneven. The Mint's figures show no circulating issue for 2016, 1,800,000 for 2017, none for 2018, then 122,000,000 for 2019, 46,540,375 for 2020, none for 2021 and 9,500,000 for 2022. The five circulating dates total 219,140,375. From 2023 the Atlantic Salmon design of King Charles III took over.

Matthew Dent's designs came out of a competition that drew more than 4,000 designs. His idea was that the coins from 1p to 50p, placed together, form the Shield of the Royal Arms. The 50p has the lowest part: the Royal Mint describes it as a section of the Royal Arms showing elements of the third and fourth quarterings, with the words FIFTY PENCE.

The obverse has the fifth portrait of the Queen, in which she wears the Royal Diamond Diadem. Jody Clark was the first Royal Mint engraver in over 100 years to be chosen for a definitive royal portrait, and was 33 when his design was selected. The edge is plain.

Collecting notes

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

By mintage, 2017 stands out. Its 1,800,000 is the lowest of any Royal Shield 50p date in the Royal Mint's figures, with either portrait, and is almost identical to the 1,801,500 of the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton 50p. At the other end, the 122,000,000 of 2019 is the highest figure for any 50p date after 1997.

Coins dated 2016, 2018 and 2021 were not part of any circulating issue in the Mint's figures, so those dates should not be expected in change. For 2015, turn the coin over: the older portrait belongs to the fourth portrait Royal Shield 50p.

The design is easier to read with the point of the shield facing down, and collector guides note that the obverse is aligned to match. Its successor is the Atlantic Salmon 50p.