In 20221 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Pride, the Royal Mint released a very special Limited Issue Pride Piedfort 50p Fifty Pence Gold Proof Coin struck in solid 22 Carat Gold.

The reverse, designed by Dominique Holmes features encompasses the essence of Pride UK and accurately depicts its history of political protest and social reform, all while celebrating the indomitable spirit of the UK’s LGBTQ+ community with the words protest, visibility, unity, and equality while the obverse features a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark.
These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.

Piedforts are coins which have been specially struck on thicker than normal blanks.
As their name suggests they are closely associated with France, where from the twelfth century they were apparently issued by the Kings as presentation pieces.
In Britain the practice of striking Piedforts is later and less frequent, but medieval and Tudor examples are known.