The Irish fifty pence was introduced on February 17, 1970 and is a seven sided coin, an equilateral curve heptagon of constant breadth 3 centimeters and weight 13.5 grams. The sides are not straight but are curved so that the centre of curvature is the opposite apex of the coin - this is an equilateral curve which allows the coin to roll freely in slot machines. The coin used the woodcock design from the farthing coin produced for the Irish Free State in 1928. On May 31 1988 a special design was circulated for the "Dublin Millennium", although it was noted, at the time, that Dublin was older than 1,000 years - the issue was regarded for publicity and collectors only. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Reuleaux triangle is the simplest nontrivial example of a curve of constant width - that is, a curve in which all diameters are the same length. ... A heptagon is a plane figure with seven sides and seven angles. ... The Irish farthing coin was the smallest value coin of the Irish currency, being worth 1/960 of an Irish pound. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and Irish... May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining, as the last day of May. ... See also: 1987 in Ireland, 1989 in Ireland and the list of years in Ireland. Events January 1 - Dublin City begins its millennium celebrations. ... Dublins Hapenny Bridge. ... A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years. ...

Coin produced for the millennium of Dublin

The millennium coin was the first decimal to feature words on it, the word "Dublin" in Roman script and "Áth Cliath" in Gaelic script, its equivalent in the Irish language. The coin was designed by Tom Ryan who would later design the Irish pound coin featuring the Irish red deer. Dublins Hapenny Bridge. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... A IR£1 coin, featuring the Irish red deer. ...

Fifty pence coins became somewhat rare during the 1990s, this is because none were produced after 1988 until the late 1990s. The coin was worth 1/2 of an Irish Pound and was withdrawn on the advent of the euro in 2002. The euro (€; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External link

• Coinage (Design of Fifty Pence Coin for Year 1988) Regulations, 1988 (http://193.178.1.79/ZZSI44Y1988.html)