Trial of the Pyx Trial of the Pyx The Trial of the Pyx () is the procedure in the United Kingdom for ensuring that newly minted coins conform to the required standards. These trials have been held from the twelfth century to the present day, normally once per calendar year. The form of the ceremony has been essentially the same since 1282 AD. These events are trials in the full judicial sense, presided over by a judge with an expert jury of metallurgical assayers. Given modern production methods, it is unlikely that coins would not conform, but this has been a problem in the
Coins of the Rhodesian pound Commonwealth and the United Nations, as the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was not recognized as legitimate. In 1966, the 'rebel' Rhodesian Government decided to issue a set of gold coins to commemorate the first anniversary of the UDI. These consisted of three denominations: - ten shillings (bearing a sable antelope on the reverse) (click for reverse image); - one pound - 5000 minted (bearing the "lion and tusk" armorial crest of Rhodesia on the reverse) (click for obverse image) (click for reverse image); and - five pounds - 3000 minted (bearing the arms of Rhodesia on the reverse) (click