Opel says to Cradock "What a pity you Britishers are not allowed to have gold". While this is not strictly true, restrictions on owning gold were brought into effect by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1966, three years before the TV series was made, at a time when the pound's value was plummeting, and investors were turning to gold. The legislation was introduced to limit gold coming into the UK, and counter the resulting flow of money out. Bullion dealers and owners of more than four gold coins were required to be licensed.