50 Cents

Kiribati's 1979 coinage was issued in the same year the islands gained independence from Britain, making this among the first sovereign issues of one of the world's most geographically dispersed nations — 33 atolls scattered across three million square kilometres of Pacific Ocean. The Gilbert Islands had been administered jointly with the Ellice Islands until 1975, when the Ellice Islands separated to become Tuvalu, leaving the Gilbertese to pursue independence on their own timetable.

The 1979 set was produced before Kiribati had established any domestic minting infrastructure, with production contracted to the Royal Mint.