“The tale begins in 1870, when the 50 cent coin was first introduced in Canada. 450,000 coins were struck that first year, but demand for this denomination varied widely afterwards, with some years having no coins produced at all.
In 1920, the Canadian government officially reduced the silver content of our coins from 92.5% to only 80%. This worsened the situation for the 50 cent denomination, which was already unpopular, and demand for the coins fell dramatically. So much so that of the 200,000+ 50 cents struck in 1921, virtually all of them remained in storage at the mint. Demand for the denomination did not increase again until 1929. At that time Master of the Mint John Honeyford Campbell considered releasing the stockpile of 1921’s into circulation, but concerns were raised that brand new coins dated from eight years prior might not be accepted as genuine.
The result was that the stockpile of 1921 50 cents were recycled, unceremoniously melted down and re-coined into new 1929 50 cents. Estimates as to how many escaped the crucible vary, with educated estimates hovering around 75 examples still in existence.”
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