50 Pence - Charles III RNLI, Silver Piedfort

The RNLI was founded in 1824, making 2024 its bicentennial year — the direct occasion for this issue. The institution operates entirely on voluntary donations and has saved over 143,000 lives since its founding, a fact that prompted Parliament to debate, and ultimately reject, state funding on multiple occasions in the nineteenth century. The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, as it was originally named, was rebranded in 1854.

Piedfort strikes at twice standard planchet thickness were revived by the Royal Mint in 1982 after a century-long absence from British coinage production.