Half dollar

The term "half dollar" refers to a half-unit of several currencies that are named "dollar". One dollar ($1) is normally divided into subsidiary currency of 100 cents, so a half dollar is equal to 50 cents. These half dollars (aka 50 cent pieces) are denominated as either Coins or as banknotes. Although more than a dozen countries have their own unique dollar currency, not all of them use a 50 cent piece or half dollar. This article only includes half dollars and 50 cent pieces that were intended for circulation, those that add up to units of dollars, and those in the form of a coin.

Note: The blue linked years included in the tables link to articles about the coins.

Currently minted

Circulating half dollars by country
Country(s) / City	Unit of currency	Technical parameters				Description			Date of first minting^[a]
Country(s) / City	Unit of currency	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	Date of first minting^[a]
Australia and its territories	AUD	31.65 mm	2.5 mm	15.55 g	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	Plain	Queen Elizabeth II	Coat of Arms	1985
Bahamas	BSD	29 mm	N/A	10.51 g	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Coat of Arms	A Marlin leaping out of water.	1974
Belize	BZD	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Ornamental - Country/Value/Date	1974
Brunei	BND	27.70 mm	N/A	7.29 g	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	Reeded	Hassanal Bolkiah	Coat of Arms	1993
Canada^[b]	CAD	27.13 mm	1.95 mm	6.9 g	93.15% steel, 4.75% copper, 2.1% nickel plating	Milled	Queen Elizabeth II	Coat of Arms	2000
Fiji	FJD	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	A Humphead wrasse	A takia	2012^[1]
Hong Kong	HKD	22.5 mm	1.72 mm	4.92 g	Brass-plated steel	Milled	Bauhinia	Value	1993
Liberia	LRD	N/A	N/A	9.0 g	Nickel Clad Steel	N/A	William R. Tolbert Jr.	Coat of Arms & Motto	2000
New Zealand and others.	NZD	24.75 mm	1.70 mm	5.0g	Nickel-plated steel	Plain	Queen Elizabeth II	HMS Endeavour	1999
Singapore	SGD	23 mm	2.45 mm	6.56 g	Nickel-plated steel	Scalloped	Coat of Arms	Port of Singapore	2013
Solomon Islands	SBD	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Coat of Arms	2012^[2]
Trinidad and Tobago	TTD	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Coat of Arms	Value	1976
United States and others	USD	30.61 mm	2.15 mm	11.34 g	Cupronickel: 75% copper 25% nickel	Reeded	John F. Kennedy	USA Presidential Seal	1971^[3]

Formerly minted

Former half dollars by country
Country(s) / City	Unit of currency	Technical parameters				Description			Introduced	Withdrawn
Country(s) / City	Unit of currency	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	Introduced	Withdrawn
Bermuda	BMD	30.5 mm	N/A	12.60 g	75% copper 25% nickel	Milled	Queen Elizabeth II	Coat of arms	1970	1990^[4]
Confederate States of America	CSD	30.6 mm	N/A	12.44 g	90% silver 10% copper	Reeded	Seated Liberty	Peterson CSA seal	1861	1865
Cook Islands	CID	32 mm	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Value	1972	2016^[5]
Crown Colony of North Borneo	MBBD	N/A	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Value	1953	1969
Crown Colony of Sarawak	MBBD	N/A	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Value	1953	1967
Dominion of Newfoundland	NFD	29.85 mm	N/A	11.78 g	92.5% silver 7.5% copper	Reeded	Reigning British Monarch	Value	1870	1949
Federation of Malaya	MBBD	N/A	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Value	1953	1969
Hawaiian Kingdom^[c]	HD	N/A	N/A	N/A	90% silver 10% copper	N/A	King Kalākaua	Value	1883	1900^[d]
Jamaica	JMD	31.37 mm	N/A	12.43 g	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Coat of arms	Marcus Garvey	1976	1990
Kiribati	KID	31.65 mm	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Coat of arms	Pandanus tree	1979	In circulation
Sarawak	SD	N/A	N/A	N/A	80% silver 20% copper (1858-1919) 40% silver 60% copper (1920-1953)	N/A	White Rajahs	N/A	1858	1953
Taiwan^[e]	TWD	18 mm	N/A	3.0 g	97% copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin	N/A	Mei Blossom	Value	1981^[6]	Unknown
Tuvalu	TVD	32 mm	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	Octopus	1976	In circulation
West Indies Federation	BWI	N/A	N/A	N/A	75% copper 25% nickel	N/A	Queen Elizabeth II	N/A	1955	1981

Notes

^ Some countries have had many varieties and forms of half dollars/50 cent pieces. The dates used in this table reflect when the current form (design/metal base) was first issued.
^ Half dollars from this country no longer circulate as they are minted in small amounts for collectors who purchase them at a premium
^ These half dollars were also accepted as legal tender by the successive Provisional Government of Hawaii, and Republic of Hawaii governments.
^ These coins were used until Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900
^ While 50-cent pieces have been discontinued in Taiwan, they are still legal tender.

References

^ "New Currency Designs". Fiji Times. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
^ "New coins of the Solomon Islands". mas.gov.sg. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
^ "Kennedy Half Dollar". www.virmu.com. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
^ "Calling in of the One Dollar Note and the Fifty Cent Circulation Coin" (PDF). Laws of Bermuda. Government of Bermuda. 30 March 1990. GN 200/1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
^ "Public Notice: Old Cook Islands Coins No Longer Legal Tender as of 1 May 2016 - Cook Islands - Ministry of Finance and Economic Management". cookislands.gov.ck.
^ "中央銀行發行之貨幣及偵偽鈔辨識".

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[1] Some countries have had many varieties and forms of half dollars/50 cent pieces. The dates used in this table reflect when the current form (design/metal base) was first issued.

[collectors-2] Half dollars from this country no longer circulate as they are minted in small amounts for collectors who purchase them at a premium

[8] These half dollars were also accepted as legal tender by the successive Provisional Government of Hawaii, and Republic of Hawaii governments.

[9] These coins were used until Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900

[10] While 50-cent pieces have been discontinued in Taiwan, they are still legal tender.

[3] "New Currency Designs". Fiji Times. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2013-07-09.

[4] "New coins of the Solomon Islands". mas.gov.sg. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.

[5] "Kennedy Half Dollar". www.virmu.com. Retrieved January 31, 2015.

[6] "Calling in of the One Dollar Note and the Fifty Cent Circulation Coin" (PDF). Laws of Bermuda. Government of Bermuda. 30 March 1990. GN 200/1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2012.

[7] "Public Notice: Old Cook Islands Coins No Longer Legal Tender as of 1 May 2016 - Cook Islands - Ministry of Finance and Economic Management". cookislands.gov.ck.

[11] "中央銀行發行之貨幣及偵偽鈔辨識".

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v t e Currencies named dollar or similar
Circulating	Australian dollar Bahamian dollar Barbadian dollar Belize dollar Bermudian dollar Brunei dollar Canadian dollar Cayman Islands dollar Cook Islands dollar Eastern Caribbean dollar Fijian dollar Guyanese dollar Hong Kong dollar Jamaican dollar Kiribati dollar Liberian dollar Namibian dollar New Zealand dollar Samoan tālā Singapore dollar Solomon Islands dollar Surinamese dollar New Taiwan dollar Trinidad and Tobago dollar Tuvaluan dollar United States dollar
Circulating, but renamed	Chinese yuan Ethiopian birr Malaysian ringgit
Defunct	Antigua dollar British Columbia dollar British North Borneo dollar British West Indies dollar Ceylonese rixdollar Confederate States dollar Continental dollar Danish rigsdaler Danish West Indian daler Danish West Indian rigsdaler Dominican dollar Dutch rijksdaalder Greenlandic rigsdaler Grenadian dollar Hawaiian dollar Japanese occupation dollar Kiautschou dollar Malaya and British Borneo dollar Malayan dollar Mauritian dollar Mongolian dollar Nevisian dollar New Brunswick dollar Newfoundland dollar Norwegian rigsdaler Norwegian speciedaler Nova Scotian dollar Penang dollar Prince Edward Island dollar Puerto Rican dollar Rhodesian dollar Saint Kitts dollar Saint Lucia dollar Saint Vincent dollar Sarawak dollar Sierra Leonean dollar Slovenian tolar Spanish dollar Straits dollar Sumatran dollar Swedish riksdaler Old Taiwan dollar Texas dollar Trinidadian dollar Tobagonian dollar Zimbabwean dollar Zimbabwean dollar (2019–2024)
Noncirculating	Niue dollar Pitcairn Islands dollar
Conceptual	Eurodollar Petrodollar International dollar (Geary–Khamis dollar)
Virtual	Linden dollar Project Entropia Dollar
Fictional	Angus Bucks
Private	Calgary dollar Canadian Tire money Disney Dollars Liberty dollar Salt Spring dollar Toronto dollar
See also	Dollar sign Half dollar Quarter dollar Holey dollar Thaler Tolar Trade dollar Zimbabwean bond coins Zimbabwean bond notes