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
Commemorative coins of the United Kingdom Commemorative coins of the United Kingdom Commemorative coins have been issued by the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom since 1935. Initially they only came out to mark events of great interest, but since the turn of the millennium have been minted yearly. Until decimalisation crowns (five shilling coins) were used for this purpose as they were the highest denomination of the time, but due to inflation this rôle has been transferred to higher value coins. Crowns, £5 Coins and (until 1996) £2 Coins are non-circulating, although they are still legal tender. These denominations are only used for commemoratives. During