5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Tower Bridge, Silver Proof

Tower Bridge was completed in 1894 after eight years of construction, its hydraulic bascule mechanism capable of lifting the roadway in roughly one minute to allow tall-masted vessels through — a feat of Victorian engineering that the Port of London Authority required to keep the upper reaches of the river commercially viable. By 2014, the bridge was marking its 120th anniversary, which provided the occasion for this issue.

The Royal Mint's proof five-pound series from this period is extensive enough that individual issues trade close to melt on the secondary market unless in original packaging.