The Irish 50 cent euro coin (€0.50) has a value of one half of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold.

Nordic gold is the gold-coloured copper alloy from which the middle three denominations of euro coins, 50 cent, 20 cent, and 10 cent coins are made.

• The alloy used is 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin
• This is a type of brass

The Irish 50c coin dates from 2002, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the 12 member Euro Zone and its related overseas territories.

• The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins
• The design of the Type I 10 to 50 cent coins were intended to show separate states of the European Union (EU), as opposed to the one and two euro coins showing the 15 states as one and the 1 to 5 cent coins showing the EU’s place in the world

Euro 50c coin, common reverse side Type I (2002-2006) – a ‘stylised’ map of Europe, showing separate states of the European Union (EU).

The EU’s membership expanded between 2004 and 2007, with further expansions envisaged, so the common face of all euro coins from the value of 10 cent and above were redesigned in 2007 to show a new map.

Euro 50c coin, type II reverse (2007 to date). This map showed Europe, not just the EU, as one continuous landmass – Cyprus was moved west as the map cut off after the Bosporus