5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth I, Silver Piedfort

The 2008 Queen Elizabeth I five pound piedfort was issued to mark the 450th anniversary of Elizabeth I's accession to the throne in 1558. Piedforts — coins struck at double the standard planchet depth — have been a Royal Mint collector format since their revival in 1982, drawing on a French minting tradition dating to the 16th century. The irony of striking a piedfort in the year of Elizabeth I's accession anniversary is not lost: she inherited a debased coinage from her predecessors and spent much of her reign attempting to restore public confidence in English silver.