Scottsdale debut their new The Royal Arms of England series with a multicoloured reverse-proof range

Never one to rest on their laurels for long, Scottsdale Mint has launched another coin series today, and in a nod to the hugely popular and highly regarded Queens Beasts series from the Royal Mint, is trying their hand at Britain’s rich heraldic history. Called The Royal Arms of England, they’re inextricably linked to the bloody history of one of the world’s most influential monarchies. Even the most ardent anti-royalist would have to concede the existence of some stunning royal imagery over the centuries, so Scottsdale certainly have a rich vein to mine for inspiration.

Planned to be an annual series, this first design depicts the coat of arms of the legendary Plantagenet King Richard the Lionheart. This is accepted to be the first Royal Arms of England and is still in wide use today – most notably on the shirts of the England football team. Depicting three lions passant guardant, this striking design is an obvious choice to launch this new series. Scottsdale have made the whole issue a little more complex that a straight choice of silver and gold, however.

The reverse proof silver coin is available with one of five different colour highlights. A choice of yellow, purple, red and blue make up the bulk of the options and there are 500 of each being minted. Those that purchase 25 coins (we’re assuming this is aimed at dealers rather than individual collectors) will get the opportunity to purchase a single black one, which has a total mintage of just 99 pieces. Expect dealers to sell this one for a significant premium. Each coin comes in a coin box with a serialised certificate of authenticity.

As well as gold, there’s a gold coin on offer as well. Just two colours this time with a 500 mintage blue highlighted design forming the bulk of choice, with a limited black highlighted coin available to those that buy five blue coins. We’d be very surprised if the black coin hit its full mintage of 99 given the sales conditions as they will not be sold seperately, just like the silver variant. Both gold and silver coins carry the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse – just as you would expect from a Gibraltar issue.

The best news for most of our readers will be the news that bullion versions are coming soon. A one ounce silver, and one and fifth ounce gold variants are on their way and we’ll cover them when they appear. We’re not expecting colour on those. This looks to be a pretty cool series and we’d imagine the bullion coins will be well recieved given the ever popular classic design and the fact that Scottsdale are minting them – a producer with a growing reputation for high-quality and interesting designs in the low-mintage bullion coin market. Available now.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

In the late 12th century, the Plantagenet King Richard I of England, affectionately known as King Richard the Lionheart, displayed the first-ever Royal Arms of England. The escutcheon (or shield) originally bore 1-2 lions, but a third lion was eventually added by King Richard I – Three lions passant guardant.

King Richard the Lionheart’s Royal Arms of England three lions design would come to serve as the symbol of the King of England and the personal coat of arms of nearly every Plantagenet King for the next 200 years, approximately.  King Richard’s three lions remained until 1369 when the Plantagenet King Edward III altered the Royal Arms design to include the fleur-de-lis, reputedly in an effort to strengthen his claim to the French crown.

Beyond the aesthetic appeal of the coin itself, the incorporation of the Tudor Rose into the design signifies the passing of the Plantagenet Dynasty and the birth of the Tudor Dynasty. In the War of the Roses Henry Tudor (King Henry VII) was victorious over King Richard III, the final Plantagenet King.

Scottsdale Mint in partnership with Gibraltar is pleased to announce the release of a new anticipated annual program – The Royal Arms of England.  The obverse of the coin features the Plantagenet King Richard the Lionheart’s Royal Arms of England design – three lions passant guardant.  Additional design details incorporated by Scottsdale Mint includes a vine surrounding King Richard the Lionheart’s original design as well as the inclusion of multiple Tudor Roses.  The reverse of the coin features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II designed by Raphael Maklouf.