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2000 Public Libraries 50p

Currency:GBP Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - Europe Start Price:18.00 GBP Estimated At:25.00 - 35.00 GBP
2000 Public Libraries 50p
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Public Libraries Act

Specifications
Issued:2000
Diameter: 27.30mm
Weight: 8.00g
Thickness: 1.78mm
Composition: Cupro-nickel (75% copper, 25%nickel)
Obverse Designer: Portrait of Her Majesty the Queen 2000 - Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS
Reverse Designer: Mary Milner Dickens
Edge: Plain
Mintage : 11,263,000*

The turning pages of a book, the anniversary dates "1850" and "2000", and the value "50 PENCE", all above a classical library building on which appear the words "PUBLIC LIBRARIES" and, within the pediment, representations of compact discs.

When the Public Libraries Act received the Royal Ascent in 1850, Charles Dickens hoped 'that the books thus made available will prove a source of pleasure and improvement in the cottages, the garrets and the cellars of the poorest people'. Without doubt, laying the foundations for today's network of public libraries, the Act brought knowledge and literature within the reach of every member of society. The start of the new millennium marked the 150th anniversary of the Act, and a chance to celebrate everything the modern library service offers. The reverse designer, Mary Milner Dickens, drew inspiration for the design from Arnold Bennett's comment that libraries act as 'an agency for the radiation of light'.