1963, Canada, Qeen Elizabeth II. Silver 50 Cents (½ Dollar) Coin. AU-UNC!

Mint Year: 1963 Reference: KM-56. Denomination: 50 Cents Condition: Minor deposits and light contact-marks and small scratches, otherwise a nice AU-UNC! Material: Silver (.800) Weight: 11.66gm Diameter: 30mm

Obverse: Wreahted bust of Queen Elizabeth II right. Legend: ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA

Reverse: Value (50 CENTS) above crowned coat-of-arms, suported by lion and unicorn, which are holding banners with flags of Britain and France. Initials T-S in fields. Legend: 50 CENTS / CANADA . 1963

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the queen regnant of sixteen independent sovereign states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. She holds each crown separately and equally in a shared monarchy, as well as acting as Head of the Commonwealth, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and Head of State of the Crown Dependencies, British overseas territories, the Realm of New Zealand and the external territories of Australia. As a constitutional monarch, she is politically neutral and by convention her role is largely ceremonial.

When Elizabeth was born, the British Empire was a pre-eminent world power, but its influence declined, particularly after World War II, and the empire evolved into the modern Commonwealth of Nations. Her father, George VI, was the last Emperor of India.  On his death in 1952, Elizabeth became Head of the Commonwealth, and  queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom,  Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. During her reign, which at 57 years is one of the longest for a British monarch,  she became queen of 25 other countries within the Commonwealth as they  gained independence from Britain. She has been the sovereign of 32  individual nations, but half of them later became republics.

Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947. The couple have four children and eight grandchildren.