2026 TRIAL OF THE PYX HELD AT MANSION HOUSE

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 7, 2026, Article 10

The Royal Mint's ancient ceremony, the Trial of the Pyx, has been held in a new venue this year, only the second time since 1871 that it has been held outside of Goldsmiths' Hall. -Editor

The Royal Mint has submitted 7,838 coins for testing at one of the UK's oldest judicial ceremonies, the Trial of the Pyx.

For the first time, this has been held for the first time in its 777-year history at Mansion House in the City of London.

The official residence of the Lord Mayors of the City of London since 1752, in November 2025 Mansion House became home to the first Lady Mayor, Dame Susan Langley, DBE.

A freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company, the Lady Mayor welcomed spectators to the Egyptian Hall, which is based on designs by the classical Roman architect Vitruvius of Roman buildings in Egypt.

This is only the second time since 1871 that the Trial of The Pyx has been held outside of Goldsmiths' Hall, which is designated as the location for the Trial by the Coinage Act of 1870.

The Trial of The Pyx aims to protect consumers by upholding the quality of the nation's coinage through rigorous independent inspection and testing.

As important today as it was at the first recorded public trial in 1248, the modern process ensures that the coins produced by The Royal Mint meet the standards of precision, accuracy and exceptional craftsmanship for which it is internationally renowned.

Alongside a wide range of bullion coins in silver, gold, and platinum, this year's submission featured a bounty of collectable coins commemorating important achievements, anniversaries, people and characters, available in a variety of metals and finishes.

These include celebrations of the 15th anniversary of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's beloved children's character, Zog; 50 years of Liberty; 200 years of the modern railway and 350 years of the Royal Observatory.

While the Royal Mint's popular Music Legends series welcomed new additions from Iron Maiden, Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney.

As well as UK coins, occasionally interesting pieces produced for other countries enter the trial.

It is called the Trial of the Pyx. Having been held since 1248, it is one of Britain's oldest ceremonies and full of flummery and pomp. The judge, wearing a wig, a tricorn hat and breeches, was the King's Remembrancer — a position that predates the Magna Carta. The jurors were members of The Goldsmiths' Company, such as the property developer Sir Stuart Lipton and Brigadier Ed Butler, and the courtroom was the Egyptian Hall of Mansion House, because Goldsmiths' Hall is undergoing refurbishment.

To many, the spectacle may seem silly at best, an expensive charade at worst. For starters, aren't coins in Britain dying out? And considering Britain stopped using silver in its coins after 1947 — and those in our pockets are purely symbolic tokens — does it matter if the cupronickel in a 50p isn't top notch?

Possibly the main reason why coins persist is because they speak to an anxiety of our age, and one that the Trial of the Pyx addresses. The trial may be — mostly — a piece of theatre, but it is also one of the very oldest forms of consumer protection in the world. Famously, Sir Isaac Newton was master of the Mint, introducing the ridges around the edge of our coins to stop forgers "clipping" them. He got into an almighty row during the 1710 trial when he was accused of producing coins without enough gold. He proved that it was the gold "trial plate" — used as a control — that was faulty, not his coins.

What is the equivalent test for crypto? Defenders of these magic beans claim it is more secure than fiat currency because it is backed up on the blockchain. But what is the gold plate, the acid test, for the blockchain behind Trump meme coins? Can you assay Melania coins or bitcoin? No, you can't.

The Trial of the Pyx survives, indeed coins themselves survive, not because of nostalgia and not because Britain is obsessed with its past — though it is. We persevere with this ritual because for currency to have, well, currency we need to trust the most basic form of money: the metal tokens in our pocket. The rigmarole of transporting the coins in a wooden box — the "pyx" — the sorting by liverymen, who then hand them over to the laboratories at the Goldsmiths' Company, is a reminder that all money is a form of trust. But that trust has to be rooted in something.

The Royal Mint, in fact, makes much more money from selling gold sovereigns and gold collectable coins to investors than from minting coins for the Treasury. At this week's trial a couple of huge 5kg gold coins, including one celebrating Paul McCartney, were being tested.