The newest of the Royal Mints £20 for £20 coins has been launched and it’s a fine, albeit familiar design. Following on from the Queens 90th Birthday design, we’re back on national symbolism with a timely Welsh themed coin. With the Welsh football team blowing expectations out of the water in the ultra-popular Euro 2016 football tournament, it seems the mint can’t have timed this release better.

It certainly helps that the Welsh Dragon is such a cool and iconic image, done fine service here by the use of Norman Sillman’s design from 1995, when it first adorned some 35 million £1 coins. With a further 110 million coins being issued in 2010 carrying the artwork, it isn’t a rare design, but it looks good in silver and now carries the new fifth effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark. Depicting the Welsh Dragon

Like previous coins in the range released since the first back in 2013, it comes unboxed, instead mounted to a themed card. Struck in ½oz of fine (0.999) silver to a brilliant uncirculated finish. The mint isn’t stating a mintage on its website at present, the last coin being limited to 150,000 units. That coin is 60% sold out at the time of writing. This one is a more appealing design in our view, so we’d expect the mintage to stay the same at least.

So a good design, and as long as you understand the whole legal tender debate at the moment (see the Queens 90th coin for an explanation) and the repercussions for cashing them in, a nice commemorative. Available to buy now with a limit of three per household.

The Welsh Dragon Celebration 2016 UK £20 Fine Silver Coin fuses craftsmanship with enduring Welsh symbolism and Arthurian legend. The third in a series of £20 coins in 2016 to feature inherently British iconography, this addition joins its beautifully crafted predecessors, such as Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday £20 Coin. The latest collectable design brings to life the cultural identity of Wales and its people, transforming fiery red heritage into fine silver.

Struck in 999 Ag Fine Silver, The Welsh Dragon Celebration 2016 UK £20 Fine Silver Coin is the third in the Commemorative Series in 2016 by The Royal Mint. The coin is designed by Royal Academy of Art graduate and celebrated Royal Academy sculptor, Norman Sillman. Commissioned by The Royal Mint in 1995 and 2000, Sillman was the first to emboss the dragon onto the £1 coin, and has remained in the pockets of the Great British public ever since.

The red dragon is as a symbol of Welsh pride, ferocity and determination. Sillman has used the face of the £20 to sculpt a scaled and unflinching defender of the realm, channelling the spirit of Wales into its posture and poise, ensuring it is worthy of Celtic legend and representative of a contemporary Welsh attitude.

The £20 coin also captures a new effigy of The Queen, designed by Royal Mint engraver Jody Clark. Her Majesty’s gentle and warm expression describes a modern monarchy, embraced and respected by a global community. The release of the £20 coin coincides with Her Majesty’s 90^th birthday celebrations, making this fine silver coin a valuable addition to a collection.

All coins made by The Royal Mint are legal tender, whether commemorative or circulating. However, only circulating legal tender coins are designed to be spent and traded at businesses and banks. This coin is a commemorative coin so banks, post offices and shops will not accept them. If individual customers wish to discuss the return of this coin now or in the future please contact our customer services team on 0345 6088 300.

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