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UK, 2000 Fifty Pence, "Piedfort” Silver Proof FDC. 150th Anniversary of the first public libraries Act.

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Fifty Pence, 2000 "Piedfort” Silver Proof FDC. 150th Anniversary of the first public libraries Act. Sterling .925 silver Diameter: 27.30 mm Weight: 16.00gms. There are 4782 public libraries in the United kingdom including 663 mobile libraries. There are 127 million books in the public library service. Up until the nineteenth century, the provision of free libraries depended wholly on the generosity of benefactors like Dick Whittington who bequeathed a library for use by the citizens of London. In the main, books were hired from circulating libraries, tobacconists and street hawkers. But Edward Edwards was to change all that. Educated by the mechanics Institute, a league, he campaigned passionately for free libraries and his articles so impressed William Ewart, then MP for Dumfries, that an attempt to establish 'libraries freely open to the public...in towns in Great Britain and Ireland' was put before Parliament. Despite opposition, their combined efforts bore fruit when in August 1850 the Public Libraries Act received Royal Assent and allowed local councils to fund a 'Public Library or Museum of Art and Science or both'. For the first time, ordinary people could enjoy free access to the world's storehouse of knowledge and great literature. Today, the public library service lies at the very heart of every community in the United Kingdom, underpinning education and enriching the quality of life. It is perhaps the biggest cultural revolution the nation has seen a revolution that began with the Public Libraries Act of 1850 and one that is still in full swing. The Royal Mint, in conjunction with The Library of Association, is therefore proud to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Act with a commemorative fifty pence coin. Its special reverse design, created by Mary Milner Dickens, depicts the turning pages of a book above the pediment of a classical library building, the facade decorated with CD, to give a modern perspective. The obverse features the portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS, FSNAD. GRADE: Silver PIEDFORT Proof FDC. Boxed with Royal Mint Certificate of Authenticity. 63320

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