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50 Pence - Elizabeth II Suffragette Movement, Silver Piedfort
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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| Shape | Equilateral curve heptagon (7-sided) |
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| Reverse description | The reverse, engraved by Mary Milner-Dickens, commemorates the centenary of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded in 1903. A full-length figure of a suffragette in Edwardian dress stands before ornate iron railings, holding a bunch of keys in her raised left hand and a banner staff in her right; the banner displays the initials W·S·P·U. To her right, a ballot paper bearing the legend GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE is shown with a cross marked in the upper section, evoking the act of voting. The denomination 50 PENCE appears to the lower left, the founding year 1903 runs along the lower field, and the centenary year 2003 is inscribed vertically to the right. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The 2003 Royal Mint piedfort commemorates the centenary of the founding of the Women's Social and Political Union by Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester that year. Piedfort production at the Royal Mint had been revived only in 1982 after centuries of dormancy, originally as a collector programme — these double-thickness strikes were never intended as currency and were sold directly to subscribers.
The WSPU's founding in 1903 marked a deliberate break from the constitutional suffragism of the NUWSS, adopting direct action that would eventually include arson and hunger strikes.