2003 Proof 50p Gold Coin Womens Social and Political Union Boxed

The 2003 gold Proof Fifty Pence coin was produced by the Royal Mint to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Women's Social and Political Union - a women's suffrage group which campaigned in the early 20th Century for a vote for women in UK elections.

939 of these gold proof 50p coins were produced by the Royal Mint. The reverse design is by Mary Milner-Dickens, while the obverse is the fourth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley.

This proof coin comes boxed with a certificate of authenticity.

The WSPU and Women Voters:.

The Women's Social and Political Union was founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters. The group was a militant political movement later known as the Suffragettes. Whereas the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (Suffragists) campaigned peacefully for women to get the vote, the WSPU took direct action and resorted to civil disobedience, vandalism, arson, cutting phone lines, and even resorted to letter bombs. The most famous incident came in 1913 at the Epsom Derby when Emily Davison was struck and killed trying to attach a Suffragette banner to Anmer - King George V's horse.

The WSPU disbanded in 1917. One year later, following the end of the First World War, the British government granted women age 30 and over the vote as thanks for their service during the war. In 1928 the voting age for women was lowered to 21, equal to men, and in 1970 the voting age for all adults in the UK was lowered to 18.