A new size 50p Fifty Pence coin was introduced in 1997 and to mark the change the Royal Mint has brought together the last of the old and the first of the new 50p Fifty Pence Coins in a superb Two Coin Silver Proof Set.
Smaller and lighter than its predecessors, the new coin retains the shape of an equilateral curve heptagon which, at its introduction in 1969, made the 50p the world's first seven sided coin.
It continues to boast on its reverse the historic figure of Britannia, an elegant seated figure of Britannia, prepared by Christopher Ironside at the time of decimalisation.
The obverse of both coins feature the elegant portrait of Her Majesty the Queen by Raphael Maklouf.
These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.