Macedonian 50 deni coin

Not to be confused with the Macedonian 50 denar coin.

50 deni
General information
Country	Republic of Macedonia
Value	0.50 denari
Years	1993
Measurements and composition
Mass	4.05 g
Diameter	21.5 mm
Thickness	1.6 mm
Composition	brass
Appearance
Shape	round
Alignment	medallic
Edge	plain
Obverse	Black-headed Gull in flight, state title, year
Reverse	Sun rays, value
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The 50 deni coin is a former circulation piece of the Republic of Macedonia, issued in a single type in 1993. It was distributed by the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia and minted at the Sumbro (formerly Suvenir Metal Products Enterprise) facility in Samokov, a town near Makedonski Brod. Prior to its demonetization on January 1, 2013, the piece held a legal tender face value equivalent to 0.50 denari, making it the lowest denominated piece of currency issued by independent Macedonia. It could be exchanged at any Macedonian bank until April 1, 2013, but can still be traded at the National Bank. Due to having a low mintage, however, the 50 deni coin saw limited circulation while it was considered valid.

The 50 deni coin is composed of brass. It weighs approximately 4.05 grams and measures 21.5 millimeters in diameter and about 1.6 millimeters in thickness. It has medallic alignment and a plain edge, and like most coins, is round in shape. The rims of both the obverse and reverse are raised and decorated with a beaded border.

Both sides of the coin were designed by Biljana Unkovska, a well known Macedonian-born Slovenian artist. A black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), along with several others in the background, is shown flying near a coast and over a body of water in the center of the obverse. Printed in a clockwise direction from the lower left to right rims of the piece is the Macedonian state title of the issuing country, displayed as "РЕПУБΛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА" (Romanized: Republika Makedonija) with Cyrillic characters. The Gregorian date of minting, "1993", occupies the portion of the rim at the bottom of the obverse. It is printed counterclockwise and is separated from the state title by two small circular points. The face value "50 ДЕНИ" (Romanized: 50 deni) is shown on two lines at the bottom center of the reverse, with the numeral displayed in a larger font than the following word, which is arched toward the coin's bottom rim. Engraved above are sixteen sun rays, which are reflective of the Vergina Sun used by ancient Macedonia, which also contained sixteen rays. Such a symbol was utilized on the flag of Macedonia from 1992 to 1995.

Approximately 11,051,000 examples of the 50 deni coin were produced. Compared to the total mintages of the other Macedonian circulation coins introduced in 1993, namely the 1, 2, and 5 denar pieces, this number is considerably low. However, the 50 deni piece was only struck for a single year, whereas the higher denominated pieces have been made in various years since their introduction.

References

• Numismatic Guaranty Corporation – MACEDONIA 50 Deni KM# 1 1993
• Numista – 50 Deni (Macedonia) (1993) (English) (French)
• Macedonian denar on the English Wikipedia

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Coins	50 d • 1 D • 2 D • 5 D • 10 D • 50 D • 60 D • 100 D • 500 D • 1000 D
Miscellaneous	Denar • Deni • National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia • Vevčani ličnik • Yugoslav dinar