Today, April 5, the Royal Canadian Mint started selling circulation rolls of 2016-dated 50-cent pieces.
For CAD $24.95, or about US $19, collectors can buy a specially-wrapped roll that includes twenty-five 50-cent coins. The coins probably won’t be available for too long. Rolls from past years sold out quickly.
Canadian 50-cent coins are harder to find because they haven’t been issued for general circulation since 2004. New ones are only available in collector products like these. This year, more collectors should have an opportunity to get them as the Mint increased their mintage to 32,000 from 25,000, although the household ordering limits were also raised to 5 rolls from 3 rolls.
Coin reverses feature Canada’s Coat of Arms, proclaimed by King George V in 1921 as a representation of the country and its political roots. Included in the design are images from France (the fleur-de-lis), England (the three royal lions and rose), Scotland (royal Scottish lion and thistle), and Ireland (the royal Irish harp of Tara and shamrock).
Canada’s Coat of Arms did not appear on the fifty-cent coins until 1937, and it wasn’t until 1959 that design was changed to include Canada’s motto: A Mari Usque ad Mare — "from sea to sea." In 1997, the first issues featuring the addition of the Order of Canada’s motto were struck.
Reverses also include the inscriptions of "CANADA," "2016" and "50 CENTS." Obverses offer Susanna Blunt’s effigy of the Queen with surrounding inscriptions of "ELIZABETH II" and "D G REGINA."
Rolls of the three-ply nickel finish plated steel coins may be ordered directly from the Royal Canadian Mint at www.mint.ca. Here’s an affiliate link to them.
