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In 2008, the Royal Mint introduced new reverse designs on our coinage. The lowest denomination was the decimal One Penny which had, since its introduction in 1971, borne the distinctive crowned portcullis chained design on the reverse, the badge of the Beaufort family and later adopted by Henry Tudor but also the official emblem of the UK Parliament. To mark the final use of this design on the One Penny coin, the Royal Mint struck some in silver proof and it is these special coins that we offer you here, but we have a limited number available, supplied in protective capsules.

1971 1st Non-Silver Kennedy in Proof. The Kennedy Half Dollar was first made in 1964 and it was 90% silver. From 1965-1970 they were made in 40% silver. But from 1971 on, they removed all silver from the circulating Kennedy Half Dollars. We have the 1971 Kennedy Half struck at the San Francisco Mint and thus carrying the ‘S’ mintmark, struck in Proof condition. Only Proof Kennedy Half Dollars were struck in San Francisco. So this is the first-ever nonsilver Kennedy Half struck in Proof.

In 1989 the Royal Mint celebrated the 200th anniversary of William & Mary’s Bill and Claim of Rights. Celebrated by both England and Scotland. Under the Bill of Rights in England and under the Claim of Rights in Scotland. The reverse of both has the cypher W & M for William & Mary and the obverse the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. They are the old larger sized £2 pieces and struck in Piedfort Proof Sterling Silver in the Royal Mint case of issue. A beautiful pair.

The Second Scottish issue Pound with the 'Thistle' reverse but with the Maklouf portrait.

In 1990 the Royal Mint reduced the size of the 5 Pence piece to the size we use today. They did strike some of the large sized 1990 5 Pence pieces but they were only in the Mint and Proof Sets. For collectors they issued a fantastic set of the Large and Small sized 1990 5 Pence pieces in Proof Sterling Silver. We have just managed to find a small group of this difficult to get set, up North. You get both the Large sized 1990 5 Pence in Proof Sterling Silver and the Small sized 1990 5 Pence in Proof Sterling Silver. The pair come in the Official Royal Mint presentation case. Not an easy set to get and the 1990 Large sized 5 Pence is really a collectors coin. Only a restricted number of sets in stock and when these are gone, who knows where we will find any more…

In 2002 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 50th or Golden Jubilee as our Queen. The Royal Mint issued a special commemorative £5 in Proof Sterling Silver to honour the event. In many ways it is similar to the Coronation Crown of 1953, as the Queen is riding her horse. The obverse is the Queen with her crown and a most striking portrait it is. We have just come across a group of these, which we were able to buy at a very special price. They are in their capsules and are Proof Sterling Silver, these are now 15 years old. Today the Royal Mint charges about £80.00 for a crown sized silver Proof £5.