2019 Gold Proof Five Pound Crown (£5) Ceremony Of The Keys – Tower of London, NGC Graded PF70 UCAM

Complete with the original box and certificate.

39.94 grams x 22 carat gold.

Mintage: Only 145 Gold Proof £5 Coins were Issued.

From the Crown Jewels to the iconic Beefeaters, the Tower of London gives millions of visitors each year the chance to experience living history. However, not all will witness the intriguing Ceremony of the Keys, the ceremonial locking of the Tower gates - which is the oldest military ceremony in the world. Two vital parts of the ceremony, the keys and lamp, feature in the design of the coin.

The formal locking and unlocking of the Tower gates started in the mid 1300s, on the orders of a furious Edward III. The King turned up unannounced at the Tower one night in December 1340 and walked straight in, unchallenged! After imprisoning the Constable of the Tower, Edward de la Beche, for dereliction of duty, Edward decreed that the castle should be locked at sunset and unlocked at sunrise.

At exactly 9.53 pm every day, the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in Tudor watch-coat and bonnet, and carrying a candle lantern donated by the Honourable Artillery Company in 1919, leaves the Byward Tower and falls in with the Escort to the Keys, a military escort made up of armed members of the Tower of London Guard. The Warder passes his lantern to a soldier, and marches with his escort to the outer gate of the fortress. The sentries on duty salute the Queen’s Keys as they pass.

The reverse of the coin depicts a lantern and key ring with three large Medieval keys on it, with a label stating A I 2 attached to one of them; in the background, a plan of the walls of the Tower which is split over the four coins in the collection unifying their designs.

Below left, the mint mark of the Tower Mint features on an official UK coin for the first time - as a privy mark; the Royal Mint was housed inside the Tower itself, or on Tower Hill (just opposite the Tower) between 1279 and 1968.

Around above left, the inscription TOWER OF LONDON. Below right, the designer's initials GD (for Glyn Davies).

The date, face value and denomination are on the obverse.

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