Almost 800 years of pomp and circumstance ensures the quality of Britain's currency

800 years of pomp

Photo: The Canadian Press

A warden looks through a magnifyer to check a 500 Pound coin during the "Trial of the Pyx,'' a ceremony that dates to the 12th Century in which coins are weighed in order to make certain they are up to standard, at the Goldsmiths' Hall in London, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.

In a nation where money is counted in pounds, the measure of coins is given great weight — and a lavish ceremony.

Judges in red robes and white gloves convened Tuesday in the ornate livery hall of London's Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for an ancient tradition dating back to the 12th century to certify Britain's coinage for circulation.

The test, known as the Trial of the Pyx, was designed to prevent counterfeiting by inspecting and weighing a sampling of thousands of coins from The Royal Mint to ensure they met the strictest standards.

“It's a way of making sure that if you’re in the U.K. the coins that are in your pocket are real and reliable, that you know what they’re made of, that they are up to the right standards,” said Eleni Bide, the librarian for the Goldsmiths' Company. “That provides a challenge for people who want to fake them. So making really standardized perfect coins is a really important part of preventing forgery."

The mint submitted nearly 6,500 coins for testing that included future pocket change alongside gold bullion coins and limited edition collectibles in a variety of metals and finishes, including Harry Potter and Star Wars collections. In the past year, the mint has produced coins honoring Beatle Paul McCartney, the late musician George Michael and the writer George Orwell.

It also included a sixpence made from silver recycled from expired medical and industrial X-ray films.

The ceremony gets its name from the ancient Greek word “pyxis,” or small box. Coins are presented in so-called Pyx boxes and jurors randomly select them for testing.

While the judges still used magnifying glasses to inspect the silver and gold pieces, the real testing takes place over months in labs.

The jury will deliver its verdict in May to the nation’s treasury chief, who also serves as master of the mint and is responsible for the quality of the coins.

“Historically, if they’d been found to have overseen badly produced coins, they would have been financially liable to recompense the Treasury for the money lost because of that,” Bide said. “Nowadays, I don’t think that would happen. But if anything did go wrong, if a fault was found, it’s unlikely, but ... that would be a big prompt to go and make sure that the processes in the mint were running OK.”