Elizabeth II 2017 silver proof Maundy Presentation Set - 9 sets and a Penny

Elizabeth II (1952-2022), silver Maundy Presentation Set, 2017, as given by the Late Queen Elizabeth II, full presentation totalling 91 Pence of maundy coins, nine full sets with Four, Three, Two and One Pence, plus one Maundy Penny, design of each with young laureate head right, Latin legend and beaded border surrounding, +ELIZABETH.II. DEI. GRATIA. REGINA. F:D:, rev. crowned denomination with date either side, all within laurel oak wreath, edge plain (S.4211); accompanied by the food and clothing alms as cupro-nickel Five Pounds commemorative, 2017, Centenary of the House of Windsor (S.L49), cupro-nickel Fifty Pence, 2017, Sir Isaac Newton (S.H48). All maundy as struck in sealed Royal Mint plastic envelopes, the cupro-nickel toned uncirculated, lacking the original purses but seldom seen as a full presentation set and very rare, all maundy coins dated post 2006 is notoriously hard to find.

Maundy money was traditionally always made from sterling silver, apart from during Henry VIII's debasement of the coinage later in his reign, and after the general change to 50% silver in 1920. Sterling silver was reintroduced following the Coinage Act of 1971, alongside updating the face values of the coins to decimalised pence.

Queen Elizabeth II felt Maundy money should be distributed to people across the country rather than simply to those in London, so she travelled to various cathedrals and abbeys throughout the land. In 2017, Elizabeth II performed the Maundy Service at Leicester Cathedral, the last cathedral in the country she had yet to visit. The coins bear Her Majesty's portrait designed for her coronation in 1953, despite ordinary circulating coinage images changing four times since.

The Maundy Service dates to 600 AD, happening each year on the Thursday before Easter Sunday. During the service, the monarch hands out gifts according to the number of years they have lived: in 2017, therefore, she distributed 91 pence worth of Maundy money to 91 men and 91 women in recognition for their contribution to their community and church. Each recipient is given two small leather purses, one red and one white. The tradition of the king or queen washing the feet of the poor faded out in the eighteenth century, with food and clothing given instead. The red purse now contains ordinary coinage, symbolising the monarch's gift of food and clothing, while the white holds the silver Maundy coins.