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50 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait, Royal Shield, Gold Proof
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2008-2015 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound sterling (decimalized, 1971-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents the lower section of the Royal Shield of Arms as part of Matthew Dent's celebrated jigsaw shield design, conceived so that all six coins of the series unite to form the complete Royal Arms. The shield is rendered in bold relief, displaying elements of the heraldic lions passant guardant of England in the lower-right quarter and the upper-left quadrant's harp of Ireland, separated by a central palar division. A beaded inner border frames the shield, beneath which a curved scroll bears the denomination legend 'FIFTY PENCE' in incuse capital lettering, with the designer's initials 'MD' discreetly placed in the field. |
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| Additional information |
The Royal Shield 50p belongs to a redesign project initiated in 2008, when the Royal Mint commissioned Matthew Dent to produce a unified heraldic reverse series across six denominations — each coin carrying a fragment of the Royal Arms that, when assembled, complete the full shield. The 50p received the lower-right quarter. It was among the more controversial design decisions of recent British coinage, breaking a decades-long convention of placing the complete shield on the higher denominations only.
Gold proof strikes of this type were issued across the transition between Ian Rank-Broadley's fourth portrait and Jody Clark's fifth, making year of issue relevant to which obverse a given piece carries.