In 2009, to celebrate the Countdown to the 2012 London Olympic Games, the Royal Mint released a very Limited Issue Countdown Piedfort £5 Five Pound Silver Proof Coin struck in solid .925 Sterling Silver Certified Slabbed and Graded by PCGS as PR70 DCAM and is the first in a series of four coins.

The reverse designed by Claire Aldridge depicts Swimming featuring a dynamic image of competing swimmers.
Also featured is the countdown number, '3', representing three years to the great event, and the London 2012 Olympic logo in full colour.
The obverse design is the stunning portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley.
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 4,874 Worldwide
• Piedfort Double the Thickness and Weight of its Standard Counterpart
• Struck to Royal Mint's Proof Quality in Solid .925 Sterling Silver
• Celebrating the Countdown to the London Olympic Games
• Reverse Designed by Claire Aldridge
• Certified Slabbed and Graded by PCGS as PR70 DCAM