The English fifty shilling coin, written as 50/-, was only ever minted once, in the year 1656. It was a milled gold coin weighing 22.7 grams and with a diameter of 30 millimetres. Only eleven examples are known to survive. One extremely fine specimen was recorded to have been sold for £15,250 in May 1989.[1]
The obverse of the coin depicts Oliver Cromwell as a Roman emperor, with the inscription OLIVAR D G RP ANG SCO HIB &C PRO (translated as, "Oliver, by the Grace of God and Republic, of England, Scotland, Ireland etc. Protector"). The reverse depicts a crowned shield bearing the Commonwealth arms, with the inscription PAX QVAERITUR BELLO (translated as, "Peace is sought through war"), and the date 1656, while there is also an edge inscription PROTECTOR LITERIS LITERAE NVMMIS CORONA ET SALVS (translated as, "Protector of the letters, the letters are a garland and a safeguard to the coinage").
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