XN000022-1977-07-29 — Page 5

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 1977

NEW 50 CENT COIN IN USE FROM AUGUST 15

******

THE PRESENT CUPRO-NICKEL 50 CENT COIN WILL BEGIN TO DISAPPEAR FROM USE AS FROM AUGUST 15 (MONDAY) WHEN THE NEW SMALLER AND LIGHTER COIN WILL BE ISSUED TO REPLACE IT.

THE DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS OF THE NEW ROUND COIN, MINTED IN NICKEL-BRASS LIKE THE 20 CENT COIN, WERE ADOPTED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 1973 COINAGE REVIEW COMMITTEE FOLLOWING THE ADVICE OF THE ROYAL MINT IN LONDON ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST AUTHORITIES ON THE DESIGN OF COINAGE SYSTEMS.

COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW AND EXISTING

50 CENT COINS ARE:

DIAMETER

THICKNESS

WEIGHT

EDGE

ALLOY

NEW

EXISTING

22.5 MM

23.6 MM

1.72 MM

1.78 MM

4.92 GRMS

5.83 GRMS

MILLED

MILLED

NICKEL-BRASS

CUPRO-NICKEL

THE EFFIGY OF THE QUEEN ON THE OBVERSE OF THE COIN, IDENTICAL TO THAT ON THE NEW $5, $2 AND 20 CENT COINS INTRODUCED IN 1975 AND 1976, IS DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE APPEARING ON THE 10 CENT AND 5 CENT NICKEL-BRASS COINS AT PRESENT IN CIRCULATION. IT WILL HELP IN IDENTIFYING THE DIFFERENT COINS.

IN

NEXT YEAR A NEW $1 COIN WILL BE ISSUED. IT WILL BE CIRCULAR, SMALLER AND LIGHTER THAN THE COIN AT PREFENT I CIRCULATION AND WILL BEAR THE NEW EFFIGY OF THE QUEN BUT OTHERWISE WILL BE SIMILAR IN APPEARANCE TO THE PRESENT COIN.

REDESIGN AND REPLACEMENT OF THE PRESENT 10 CENT COIN IS CURRENTLY UNDER ACTIVE CONSIDERATION BUT NO DATE HAS YET BEEN SET FOR ITS INTRODUCTION.

THE COINAGE REVIEW COMMITTEE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1973 TO EXAMINE HONG KONG'S COINAGE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF INCREASING DEMAND FOR COINS AND RISING MINTING AND STORAGE COSTS BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF MOUNTING CRITICISM THAT COINS IN USE WERE TOO HEAVY AND CUMBERSOME.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW 50 CENT COIN IS PART OF THE GENERAL RESTRUCTURING OF HONG KONG'S COINAGE RECOMMENDED BY THE COINAGE REVIEW COMMITTEE. THE FULL BENEFITS OF RESTRUCTURING, THAT IS A RANGE OF ATTRACTIVE, DISTINCTIVE BUT GENERALLY SMALLER AND LIGHTER COINS, WILL NOT REALLY BE FELT UNTIL THE WHOLE EXERCISE IS COMPLETED.

J

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