2008 Elizabeth I Piedfort £5 Silver Proof Coin

In 2008, to celebrate the 450th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Elizabeth I, the Royal Mint released a very Limited Issue Elizabeth I Piedfort £5 Five Pound Silver Proof Coin struck in solid .925 Sterling Silver.

The Crown-sized Coin will be struck in Silver Proof as a 'double thickness' Piedfort Coin bearing a portrait of the Tudor Queen in celebration of one of the greatest reigns in British history.
These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.

Piedforts are coins which have been especially 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 of 1,602 Worldwide
• Piedfort Double the Thickness and Weight of its Standard Counterpart
• Finished to Royal Mint's Proof Quality in Solid .925 Sterling Silver
• Celebrating the 450th Anniversary of the Accession of Elizabeth
• Encapsulated as Shown