50 Cents - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait, magnetic

The magnetic steel version of this type replaced the earlier nickel-brass composition as part of a broader Pacific island coinage modernization push in the late 2000s, driven primarily by rising base metal costs that made the older alloy increasingly uneconomical to strike. The Solomon Islands, with a small domestic economy heavily dependent on aid flows and timber exports, had limited incentive to maintain expensive coinage compositions.

KM#29a distinguishes the magnetic alloy variant from its predecessor — a distinction that matters more to type collectors than it once did, as the transition was not widely publicized at issue.