Take a tour around the Trial of the Pyx - the 800-year-old ceremony to test the UK's coins

LONDON - One of the world's oldest judicial events is taking place right now in a quiet corner of central London.

The Trial of the Pyx, a near-800-year old ceremony to count coins and verify Britain's currency, got under way at the Goldsmiths' Hall in London on Tuesday.

The process, which takes months and involves the counting of nearly 40,000 coins produced by the Royal Mint, dates back to the reign of Henry III.

A sample of all the coins made by the Royal Mint are tried in this way - from a £49,995 commemorative coin made from a kilo of solid gold, down to the lowly 20p piece.

One of the new attractions for the Trial this year was the new £1 coin, which has 12 sides and will be released to the public later this year. It is considered to be the most secure coin ever developed.

It is a trial by 16-jurors of the coinage to ensure that the country's metal money is the correct weight, size and composition, and it features all the pomp and circumstance you might expect from a tradition that has taken place every year since the 13th century.

Take a look inside the ceremony: