Remember the time when money really could wear a hole in your pocket? The original 50p piece (above), weighed in at the best part of 14 grams and was bigger than the UK’s current two pound coin. In comparison, today’s 50p coins – at a mere 8 grams – feel decidedly flimsy.
One thing they do have over their predecessor, however, is their function as a design canvas. Over the last 15 years, the Royal Mint has been using the back of the 50p as the site for a surprising variety of commemorative illustrations, all of which are gathered together here…