5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Gas, Silver Proof

Released as part of the Royal Mint's ongoing commemorative program, this piece marks the centenary of the First World War's gas warfare — specifically the large-scale use of chlorine and phosgene by both sides along the Western Front from 1915 onward. The issue belongs to a five-coin series covering distinct aspects of the conflict, with each reverse designed by David Rowlands.

Gas casualties accounted for roughly 1.3 million of the war's total wounded, yet fatalities from gas were proportionally lower than popular memory suggests — approximately 90,000 deaths. That statistical reality shaped how governments and veterans' groups chose to commemorate chemical warfare, always uneasily.