The Queen’s Beasts are back for a swansong in what may be the series finest hour, and there’s bullion to come

What could possibly be better than a Queen’s Beast coin? How about a Queen’s Beasts coin featuring all ten of the iconic symbols of British heraldry. This series from Britain’s Royal Mint has been an unqualified success in both the bullion and numismatic markets. Each of the ten beasts was showcased on a Jody Clark penned design, and all of them were, in our view, quite beautiful pieces.

Both the bullion and proof ranges recently came to a close and many thought that the mint would move on to something new. Indeed, the new Robin Hood debut for Myths & Legends seems to be that direction, but we had hints some time ago from government documents that there was a big swansong to come. Well here it is.

Designed by series artist Jody Clark, this stunning coin is an encapsulation of everything that has gone before, depicting all ten of the now iconic personifications of parts of British history. In the centre sits the effigy, also by Clark, of the reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. It’s a fundamentally simple design, which we’d have thought a necessity given the sheer number of elements needing equal exposure. Clark has done a fine job, in our view.

A wide range of sizes, four silver (1oz, 5oz, 10oz, 1kg) and five gold (1oz, 5oz, 1kg, 2kg, 10kg) make up the proof range. Yes, you read that right, there is a single TEN KILO gold coin with a phenomenal 200 mm diameter. It’s the biggest coin in the Royal Mint’s history, which given that dates back some 1,150 years, is no mean feat. We’ve put together a seperate article for that one with plenty of excellent images. All of the coins are pretty pricey, but given the aftermarket performance of many of this mints releases of late, especially gold, it doesn’t seem to be putting collectors off in any way. There will also be bullion versions coming shortly and we’ll have details of those soon. The proof coins are available later today.