In 2016 to celebrate the upcoming new £1 One Pound Coin which will enter circulation in 2017, the Royal Mint have released this special Limited Issue Last Round Pound Piedfort £1 One Pound Silver Proof Coin struck in solid .925 Sterling Silver designed by Gregory Cameron Certified Slabbed and Graded by PCGS as PR69 DCAM.
The obverse is the stunning Fifth Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark .
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 practice of striking piedforts is later and less frequent, but medieval and Tudor examples are known.