Guernsey 50 new pence 1969 - Ducal Cap of Normandy

The coin's story

This 50 new pence coin is one of the first 50 pence coins issued in the British Crown Dependencies. After the 5 and 10 new pence coins of 1968, Guernsey followed the United Kingdom and put the 50 new pence coin into circulation in 1969, two years before the official changeover to the decimal system in 1971. Its novel shape with seven curved sides caused a sensation: it was the first seven-sided coin in the world, and its constant width allows it to roll and pass through machines like a round coin. The reverse, designed by Anthony Wagner, shows the ducal cap of the Duke of Normandy: Guernsey, a former territory of the Duchy of Normandy, has remained attached to the English Crown since William the Conqueror, and the sovereign still bears the title of Duke of Normandy there. The obverse keeps the seal of the Bailiwick with the three leopards. The word NEW was dropped from the inscriptions in 1977. In 2019, Guernsey reissued this design on a reduced-size 50 pence coin for the coin's 50th anniversary.