10 Pounds - Elizabeth II White Horse of Hanover, Silver Piedfort

The White Horse of Hanover entered British royal heraldry when George I acceded to the throne in 1714, bringing with him the dynastic symbols of the Electorate of Hanover. The piedfort format — double the standard planchet thickness — has roots in medieval French minting practice, where such strikes were produced as official weight standards and presentation pieces rather than circulation currency. The Royal Mint revived the format for collectors in the 1980s, and it has since anchored the premium tier of nearly every major commemorative program.