5 Pounds - Elizabeth II The Mary Rose, 4th Portrait Silver Proof

The Mary Rose sank in the Solent in July 1545 during an engagement with a French invasion fleet, almost certainly due to a combination of open gunports and a sharp turn in the wind rather than enemy fire. She lay on the seabed for 437 years before a salvage operation culminating in 1982 brought the surviving hull to the surface — one of the most technically demanding marine archaeology projects ever attempted. Alderney, a Crown dependency with no direct connection to the ship, issued commemoratives of this kind under licensing arrangements that allowed the Royal Mint's affiliated program to circulate coins bearing British historical subjects.