Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Canadian 50 cent piece

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Expert: - 3/10/2010


Question
I have a Canadian 1902 fifty cent piece. The tails side is upside down.  I have it stored in a book with other coins, all heads are placed up on the one side, when you turn the page, the 1902 coin is the only one with the tails side upside down.  Now was that the way it was minted or do I have something rare?

Answer
Hi Darlene,
This is the normal alignment for the 1902 date. The Canadian 50 cent pieces were made with "coin alignment" from 1902 to 1907. This is where the two sides are upside-down in relation to each other. From 1908 to 1910 they were made with "medal alignment", where both sides face in the same direction.
Thanks for the question! =)

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Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

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Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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