Eagerly anticipated by collectors worldwide, the latest release in the Chess Series pays homage to one of the powerful pieces on the board – the Rook!

More important than a knight or a bishop, due to its greater mobility, the Rook can be used for lightning fast, long-range attacks. This harks back to the highly influential Ancient Persian version of chess, Shatranj, where the Rook symbolised a war-chariot. Often carrying an archer, and built to resemble fortified stonework, the fast, mobile Persian war-chariots caused terror on the battlefield. Named after the Persian word for chariot – ‘rukh’ – the Rook in chess embodies dangerous, long-range attacks.

A triumph of numismatic art, this official legal tender issue captures both the Ancient Persian origins of the Rook, as well as the Western interpretation of the Rook as a castle tower – a structure vital to both defence and attack.

Struck from 99.9% silver, each Black Proof coin bears a grandiose depiction of a castle bearing the chequered patterns of a chessboard, united with an archer representing the Rook’s capacity for attacking from distance. The perfect finishing touch, the birds are symbolic of lethal arrows in flight.