1900 Newfoundland 50 Cents
Victoria · 3 varieties · study revised Aug. 23th 2022
The 1900 issue of Newfoundland coins is notable for a number of reasons. Included in these is the fact, that it was the only date issued during the new century for the Reign of Queen Victoria, and also, it was the last!
Read Barry's full introduction
One particularly interesting feature of these coins, is that the last three digits of the date were punched to set this year. It was unlike all of those years from the previous century, when only the final two numbers were added to the dies! As a result of this change, there were at least three different varieties that were minted, and probably more will be found as further examples are examined.
These three known variations can be divided into Narrow and Wide Dates, with the latter of these further sub-divided into varieties based on the various sizes of the Gaps found between the individual numerals. Initially, it may be difficult to recognize the different varieties within this group, especially since the last "0" is so far from any point of reference. The "T", which stands above this digit, might be helpful in this respect but perhaps the best method to identify these varieties, is to observe the differences in the Gaps between the "1" and "9" for each of these dates.
