Issued to mark the 400th anniversary of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, this piedfort was struck the same year the British government was quietly debating new anti-terrorism legislation — an irony not lost on collectors at the time. Piedforts, struck at double the standard thickness on specially prepared planchets, have been a Royal Mint commemorative tradition since their revival in 1982.
Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators came within hours of detonating 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords on 5 November.
Issued to mark the 400th anniversary of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, this piedfort was struck the same year the British government was quietly debating new anti-terrorism legislation — an irony not lost on collectors at the time. Piedforts, struck at double the standard thickness on specially prepared planchets, have been a Royal Mint commemorative tradition since their revival in 1982.
Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators came within hours of detonating 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords on 5 November.