The octagonal Panama-Pacific $50 bore the same design by Robert Aitken as its round twin, but with a few minor modifications. Most notably in the spaces surrounding the central design are swimming dolphins, reminiscent of the huge dekadrachms of Syracuse and symbolizing the unbroken waterway created by the canal, as explained by Aitken. The mintmark appears to the right of the pine cone on the owl's right side. The Panama-Pacific commemorative coins hold the distinction of being not only the first commemoratives struck at a branch mint, but also the first to employ the motto, In God We Trust. The same year as the exposition, Zerbe along with several local businessmen established the Pacific Coast Numismatic Society, the first such organization west of the Mississippi River. The society helped supervise the United States Mint's exhibit at the exposition, and later served as host for the ANA Convention that same year.

Farran Zerbe's tireless promotion left today's collectors a bounty of items from the Exposition. Zerbe also helped to create a number of medals, to include the official exhibit award medal and the official Mint medal, and even bezels to allow the smaller coins to be worn as jewelry. In addition, there were dozens of unofficial souvenir medals offered by other participants. Despite Zerbe's best efforts, sales were slow for the large denomination coins and the expensive multiple coin sets. Sales were moderately better for this issue than the round version, possibly due in part to the historic appeal of the octagonal shape so frequently associated to the United States Assay Office of Gold slugs from six decades prior. Some 645 examples were ultimately sold individually and in sets, still far below the 1,500 struck. The remaining coins ended up in the Mint's crucibles.

Like the round $50 coins, while they did not circulate, the octagonal pieces suffered from mishandling, as a result choice examples are quite difficult to locate. A few more are known as Gem specimens than there are of the round coins, but are by no means common.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Spring 2022 Showcase Auction, where it realized $180,000.