Milner’s Tower 50p

Introducing the Milner’s Tower 50p Coin

Issued in 2015 by the Isle of Man, the rare 50 pence coin was made to honour the Island’s most famous landmark, Milner’s Tower. Visible for miles around across the Port Erin Bay, Milner’s Tower was built in 1871 as a memorial to the champion of Port Erin, William Milner. William was a safe maker from Liverpool whose charitable contributions to the people of the Island gave him the nickname, ‘The Godfather of Port Erin.’ The tower is built in the shape of a key and a lock to harken back to his days as a safe maker. In fact, the tower was meant to be a surprise for him, but eventually, Milner found out and donated enough money to cover most of the building cost. 

The Isle of Man’s Milner’s Tower 50 pence coin is a rare find in Britain because of its low mintage figures and because it’s not legal tender in the UK. 

Milner’s Tower 2015 50p 

The 50p coin’s design is of the iconic tower, with some birds flying around it. ‘Milner’s Tower’ is stamped around the top of the coin. On the obverse side is a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II wearing her “Girls of Great Britain and Ireland” tiara. It is designed by engraver Ian Rank-Broadley. 

(Milners Tower Isle of Man by Alexey Komarov licensed under CC-BY-2.0)

How Much is the Milner’s Tower 50p Coin Worth? 

It’s difficult to base the value of the Milner’s Tower 50p on the mintage value like we usually do for other coins simply because the mintage value for Isle of Man coins are not widely released. Based on the small population of the crown dependency, the mintage figures will be low compared to most UK 50p. On eBay, the most you have to pay, as of 2019, is £1.75 for a good condition circulation coin.

Other Versions of the Milner’s Tower 50p

Because this coin is a standard circulation coin, the coin doesn’t have any special Proof versions. However, it has been issued multiple times between 2004-2016. There are tiny marks on the reverse side of the coin that will distinguish it from other coins made in the same year. On the bottom right you can find a small ‘PM’. The ‘PM’ indicates that it was minted at the Pobjoy Mint, a private mint in Surrey. On the bottom left you’ll find a two letter combination like ‘AA’ or ‘AB’. These letters are the die marks to indicate which die was used to stamp the coin. As the AA die gets worn down, they replace it with the AB die and so on. 

Other Isle of Man Coins

If you’re interested in Isle of Man coins, we also have the Castle Rushen Clock 20p coin.