In 1992 the Royal Mint released a Limited Issue Piedfort Silver Proof 6 Coin Set all struck in solid .925 Sterling Silver.
Decimalisation in 1971 was perhaps the most fundamental and far reaching revision of our monetary system for more than a thousand years. But the process of change, progress and refinement has continued and on occasion significant events in history have been recorded in coin design.
In 1982 the 20p Twenty Pence Coin was introduced, 1983 saw the first £1 First One Pound Coin, 1990 was the year in which the size of the 5p Five Pence Coin was reduced and, in 1992, the 10p Ten Pence also became smaller. In 1989 £2 Two Pound Coins were struck to mark the tercentenary of both the Bill of Rights and Claim of Right in Scotland, and in 1992-3 the Presidency 50p Fifty Pence Coin bore a special European design.
Each of these important events has been marked with special Silver Proof Piedfort issues so popular with collectors and one of each denomination is included in this superb collection. Coins in the collection struck prior to 1985 bear the elegant portrait of Her Majesty the Queen by Arnold Machin while those from 1985 to the present show the effigy created by Raphael Maklouf. These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.
Piedforts are coins which have been specially struck on thicker than normal blanks. As their name suggests they are closely associated with France, where from the twelfth century they were apparently issued by the Kings as presentation pieces. In Britain the practise of striking piedforts is later and less frequent, but medieval and Tudor examples are known.
Limited Mintage 500 Worldwide
Piedfort Double the Thickness and Weight of its Standard Counterparts
Finished to Royal Mint's Proof Quality in Solid .925 Sterling Silver
