5 Pounds Bardsey

Bardsey Island — Ynys Enlli in Welsh — lies two miles off the Llŷn Peninsula and was a major medieval pilgrimage site; three journeys there were held equivalent to one to Rome. The island has maintained a small private community for centuries and retains the legal curiosity of its own elected "king," a tradition revived in the twentieth century. This piece is part of a broader series of regional British issues produced by private licensing arrangements rather than the Royal Mint, a practice that has proliferated since devolution made sub-national identity commercially viable.