50 Cents - Victoria

Canada's first fifty-cent piece was authorized under the Dominion coinage act of 1870, the same legislation that established a unified decimal currency following Confederation. Production was contracted to the Heaton Mint in Birmingham for several years before Ottawa established its own facility, meaning a meaningful share of Victorian-era Canadian halves were struck abroad and shipped across the Atlantic for circulation.

The 1875-H is the key date, with a mintage so low it remains disputed among specialists. The 1900 issue saw a last production run under Victoria before her death in January 1901.