Samuel Johnson's 50P.

When I was growing up there were two kinds of 50p coin - the one with Britannia and the one with all the hands for the EU. Then 50ps got a bit smaller (along with Wagon Wheels if I remember correctly), and now there seems to be dozens of designs out there. I saw this one for the first time today - apparently they were issued in 2005 to mark the 250th anniversary of Samuel Johnson's dictionary of the English Language.

I know that currency today is mainly about receiving cash electronically and spending it on plastic with the balance cleared by direct debit. All that money spent without touching a note or opening a purse. I still like coins, even though most of the 50s I encounter go straight into a parking machine or the vending machine after B's swimming lesson. I like that this coin has clearly been around a bit. Pockets, purses, piggy banks, parking, public transport, jam-jars, collecting tins, vending machines.... who knows its history and what it's been traded for over the years?