5 Pounds - Elizabeth II Votes for Women

Gibraltar has issued commemorative five-pound pieces for virtually every conceivable occasion, but this 2009 silver marks the centenary of the 1909 Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act — the legislation that first permitted women to stand as Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom, a separate and frequently overlooked milestone from the better-known 1918 suffrage victory. The distinction matters: women could be elected to Westminster two years before most of them could legally vote to put anyone there.