Canadian 50-cent coin · Elizabeth II
1990 Canadian 50 cents (half dollar)
A 1990 Canadian 50-cent coin contains no silver.
Reported mintage, 1990
207,000The Mint records this coin as 99% nickel (minimum). There is no melt trade in it and no dealer prices it by weight.
What the Mint says it is made of
| Period | Composition | Weight | Silver | Diameter | Magnet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 - 1999 | 99% nickel (minimum) | 8.1 g | none | 27.13 mm | attracted |
How many were struck
Reported mintage, 1990
That is the 17th lowest of the 96 years in which the Mint reports striking a 50-cent coin, in a range running from 19,213 to 14,440,000. Mintage is a count of coins made, not of coins that survive: the Mint has no way of knowing how many of these were later returned and melted, and for a silver denomination in the 1960s that number is large.
Portrait on the obverse
Elizabeth II
A new effigy of Queen Elizabeth II was unveiled in 1990 when she was 64 years old. This was the first to be designed by a Canadian, Dora de Pédery-Hunt, and the coin kept the ELIZABETH II D G REGINA inscription.
The design on the reverse
1959 - 1966, 1968 - present
The Canadian Government approved a new Coat of Arms in 1957. In 1959 it appeared on the 50-cent coin, where it remains to this day.
The rest of your 1990 change
Nobody inherits one denomination. If there is a 1990 50-cent coin in the tin, these are the other coins carrying that date and whether they hold any silver.