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Modified Canadian Arms

Modified Arms Fifty Cents

Modified Arms Fifty Cents covers 1959–present within the fifty cents denomination. Identify the canadian arms, updated to the current arms in 1997 reverse before applying the overlapping official technical standards or annual production rows.

Scope is limited to the verified type or program level. Issue mintages, prices, varieties, and survival estimates are not inferred from this summary.

Modified Arms Fifty Cents obverseModified Arms Fifty Cents reverse
Representative 1989 obverse/reverse catalog pair for Modified Arms Fifty Cents; an identification aid, not a grading photograph. Coins and Canada / Numicanada; catalog cleanup by World Coin Book
1Design generations
57Annual rows
4Technical standards
3Cited sources

Major fifty cents types

Crossed Maple Boughs Fifty Cents · 1870–1936Simplified Arms Fifty Cents · 1937–1958Modified Arms Fifty Cents · 1959–present

Know the boundary before the date

Begin with the Canadian Arms, updated to the current arms in 1997 reverse, then confirm the Reigning monarch portrait obverse. Compare date, portrait, denomination, reeded edge, dimensions, weight, and metal response together. Wear, cleaning, plating disturbance, or environmental colour is not, by itself, evidence of a new type or variety.

  • Primary identifiers — Reverse: Canadian Arms, updated to the current arms in 1997. Obverse: Reigning monarch portrait.
  • Authority and dates — Canada; recorded range 1959–present.
  • Evidence boundary — Unknown specifications remain unknown; unverified varieties, mintages, and prices stay outside the public catalog.

The historical scope of Modified Arms Fifty Cents

The cited evidence records Canada as the issuing authority and 1959–present as this type or program boundary. It belongs to the Fifty cents branch and is classified by authority, principal design, and documented physical generations. A narrower subtype should be added only when measurements, composition, or design evidence supports the split.

The catalog places this record in the Fifty cents branch, records its material scope as silver, nickel, and plated-steel generations, and records its finish as circulation. Those fields are supported by the sources listed below; missing issue-level transitions are not filled by inference.

  1. 1959 · Modified Arms — Thomas Shingles' treatment followed the government's updated Arms.
  2. 1967 · Centennial wolf — Alex Colville's howling wolf replaced the Arms for one year.
  3. 1968 · Nickel generation — Nickel replaced the silver circulation standard.
  4. 1997 · Order of Canada motto — The current Arms version added the Order of Canada motto.
  5. 2000 · Plated steel — The lighter plated-steel generation began.
  6. 2016 · Published table endpoint — The Mint page's annual table currently ends in 2016; later totals are not inferred.

Design and identification

Begin with the Canadian Arms, updated to the current arms in 1997 reverse, then confirm the Reigning monarch portrait obverse. Compare date, portrait, denomination, reeded edge, dimensions, weight, and metal response together. Wear, cleaning, plating disturbance, or environmental colour is not, by itself, evidence of a new type or variety.

  • Modified Arms Fifty Cents · 1959–present · Thomas Shingles — Canadian Arms, updated to the current arms in 1997. Modified Canadian Arms.

Finish by checking the edge (reeded), composition (silver, nickel, and plated-steel generations), and any recorded dimensions or weight; colour or wear alone is not enough for attribution.

Official annual production

This page filters the published 1959–2016 annual rows to the Modified Arms Fifty Cents type boundary. Special reverses or parallel issues can be included in denomination-level annual totals; an unsplit total is not represented as design-only production.

Displayed-row sum: 129,136,167 · 57 official annual rows

Three anchors that do not depend on price

  • Modified Arms — Thomas Shingles' treatment followed the government's updated Arms.
  • Centennial wolf — Alex Colville's howling wolf replaced the Arms for one year.
  • Nickel generation — Nickel replaced the silver circulation standard.
  • Order of Canada motto — The current Arms version added the Order of Canada motto.
  • Plated steel — The lighter plated-steel generation began.
  • Published table endpoint — The Mint page's annual table currently ends in 2016; later totals are not inferred.

Specifications within this type

1920 – 1967 · Round

Composition
80% silver, 20% copper
Weight
11.66 g
Diameter
29.72 mm
Thickness
Not stated

1968 – 1979 · Round

Composition
99% nickel (minimum)
Weight
8.1 g
Diameter
27.13 mm
Thickness
1.93 mm

1980 – 1999 · Round

Composition
99% nickel (minimum)
Weight
8.1 g
Diameter
27.13 mm
Thickness
1.9 mm

2000 – present · Round

Composition
93.15% steel, 4.75% copper, 2.1% nickel plating
Weight
6.9 g
Diameter
27.13 mm
Thickness
1.95 mm

Official annual production catalog

This page filters the published 1959–2016 annual rows to the Modified Arms Fifty Cents type boundary. Special reverses or parallel issues can be included in denomination-level annual totals; an unsplit total is not represented as design-only production.

YearDesign contextTechnical standardMintage
1959Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g3,095,535
1960Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g3,488,897
1961Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g3,584,417
1962Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g5,208,030
1963Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g8,348,871
1964Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g9,377,676
1965Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g12,629,974
1966Modified Canadian Arms29.72 mm · 11.66 g7,683,228
1968Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g3,966,932
1969Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g7,113,929
1970Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,429,516
1971Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,166,144
1972Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,515,632
1973Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,546,096
1974Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g3,436,650
1975Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g3,710,000
1976Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,646,000
1977Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g709,939
1978Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g3,341,892
1979Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g3,425,000
1980Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g1,943,155
1981Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,588,900
1982Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,884,572
1983Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g1,177,000
1984Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g1,502,989
1985Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g2,188,374
1986Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g781,400
1987Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g373,000
1988Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g220,000
1989Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g266,419
1990Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g207,000
1991Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g490,000
1992Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g248,000
1993Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g393,000
1994Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g987,000
1995Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g626,000
1996Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g458,000
1997Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g387,000
1998Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g308,000
1999Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 8.1 g496,000
2000Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g559,000
2001Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g403,000
2002Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g14,440,000
2003Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g0
2004Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g0
2005Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g200,000
2006Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g98,000
2007Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g250,000
2008Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g211,000
2009Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g150,000
2010Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g150,000
2011Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g175,000
2012Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g250,000
2013Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g375,000
2014Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g500,000
2015Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g625,000
2016Modified Canadian Arms27.13 mm · 6.9 g800,000

Collecting paths and checklist

A useful first set represents the design and technical boundaries documented across 1959–present; portrait, composition, or program generations can follow when their evidence is secure. Issue mintages, rarity labels, variety names, prices, and survivor estimates require separate verification and are not inferred from this type summary.

  • One-coin type study — Choose one representative that clearly shows the principal obverse and reverse, then learn the type boundary.
  • Design and technical generations — Add a generation only when sources confirm a change in composition, shape, size, edge, or principal design.
  • Source-backed date study — Expand into dates or varieties only after issue identity, specifications, and production evidence are verified field by field.

Collector checklist

  • Do not clean the coin; cleaning changes surfaces and can obscure evidence.
  • Compare date, portrait, design, edge, weight, diameter, and metal response together.
  • Have consequential or high-value attributions reviewed by an appropriate specialist or certification service.
  • Catalog information is research context, not an appraisal, offer, or investment guarantee.

Data scope

This page publishes reviewed denomination- and major-type-level evidence. Years not published by the Mint remain unknown, zero appears only when the source reports zero, and prices or survivor estimates are not inferred from production.

Sources

  1. 50 centsRoyal Canadian Mint

    Fifty-cent design generations, technical chronology, and infrequent circulation.

  2. Currency ActJustice Laws Website, Government of Canada

    The Canadian dollar, cent relationship, current-coin definition, and legal-tender limits.

  3. Faces of the MonarchRoyal Canadian Mint

    Canadian coin obverse portrait chronology through Charles III.