5 Pounds Elizabeth II 75th Anniversary-V.E. Day, Gold Proof

V.E. Day in Guernsey carried a particular weight absent from mainland British commemorations. The island had been under German occupation since June 1940 — the only British territory to fall — and Liberation Day on 9 May 1945 arrived a full day after the official European armistice, the delay caused by the time required for German forces on the island to formally surrender to HMS Bulldog. Guernsey still marks 9 May as its own public holiday, distinct from the rest of the UK.