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The Royal Mint has released (28th June) gold and silver collections composed of all designs in the “Queen’s Beasts” series. Launched in 2017 and released at the rate of two beasts per year, the set of 10 designs was inspired from a collection of life-size heraldic actual and mythical beasts often found in heraldry and created to showcase the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. Each of the 10 statues of heraldic creatures had great significance to the day as they represented the ancestry of the young woman about to be crowned. All 10 beasts represent a royal ancestor that had gone before her and symbolised noble characteristics desirable in a monarch. On the day of the Queen’s coronation, the statues lined the entrance near Westminster Abbey and served as a symbolic escort to the woman who was to be anointed as sovereign and defender of the faith.
The designs were featured on gold and silver bullion coins and transitioned onto a series of collector coins in a variety of sizes in 2018. Since then, the collection of coins, which were issued over a five-year period, became one of the more popular themes for both bullion and Proof-quality coins. The collection is now offered in three options, a complete 10-coin quarter-ounce collection struck in pure gold and pure silver, as well as an option of two-ounce pure silver Piedfort-type Proof coins.
The designs offered on the 2021-dated collection include the variations found on the Proof-quality coins, which differ slightly from the bullion range, and include:
Lion of England
Red Dragon of Wales
Griffin of Edward III
Unicorn of Scotland
Black Bull of Clarence
Falcon of the Plantagenets
Yale of Beaufort
White Lion of Mortimer
White Horse of Hanover
White Greyhound of Richmond
The quarter-ounce gold and silver coins are minted with a Reverse Proof finish while the two-ounce silver coins are struck as traditional Proof strikes and as Piedforts.
Denom.
Metal
Weight
Diameter
Quality
Maximum Mintage
50 pence x 10
.999 Silver
7.86 g
22 mm
Proof
1,250
Five pounds x 10
.999 Silver
62.4 g
40 mm
Proof
300
25 pounds x 10
.9999 Gold
7.8 g
22 mm
Proof
250
The silver quarter-ounce and two-ounce silver coin sets are presented in a matte black custom case accommodating all 10 pieces and are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. The gold set is presented in a polished hardwood case and is also accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For more information about these coins and others available from the Royal Mint, please visit their website.
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