Designer Jody Clark has Reimagined the Queen’s Beasts
At Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation June 2, 1953, 10 heraldic beast statues stood witness to the ceremony, representing the different great lineages represented in Her Majesty’s royal ancestry. Present that day in plaster form were the Lion of England, the Griffin of Edward III, the Red Dragon of Wales, the White Greyhound of Richmond, the Black Bull of Clarence, the Falcon of the Plantagenets, the Yale of Beaufort, the White Lion Mortimer, the White Horse of Hanover and the Unicorn of Scotland. Today, these original Queen’s Beasts plasters reside at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec, while stone replicas can be found in Kew Gardens just outside of London.
The Queen’s Beasts Coins
The Royal Mint is celebrating the Queen’s Beasts with a series of 10 Gold and Silver coins featuring stylized versions of each of the heraldic statues present at the coronation. Royal Mint Coin Designer Jody Clark has reimagined the Queen’s Beasts coming to rest on the reverse of .9999 fine Gold coins and .9999 fine Silver coins in a variety of sizes. The series debut featured the Lion of England and it quickly sold out, which only added to already overwhelming anticipation of the next releases. The Royal Mint has at last announced the release dates for each of these spectacular coins.
The Queen’s Beasts Series
The Series as it planned at the moment:
- 1st– The Lion of England – February 2016
- 2nd– The Griffin of Edward III – October 2016
- 3rd– The Red Dragon of Wales – March 2017
- 4th– The White Greyhound of Richmond– September 2017
- 5th– The Black Bull of Clarence – March 2018
- 6th– The Falcon of the Plantagenet’s – September 2018
- 7th– The Yale of Beaufort – March 2019
- 8th– The White Lion of Mortimer – September 2019
- 9th– The White Horse of Hanover – March 2020
- 10th– The Unicorn of Scotland – September 2020
The specific designs appearing on the upcoming releases are still shrouded in mystery, as The Royal Mint has not shared any concept artwork. However, based on the coins we have seen thus far, the coins are sure to feature beautiful, dynamic renditions of each beast. The reverse of the Queen’s Beasts coins in both Silver and Gold bear an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Besides being stunning pieces of history and art, the Queen’s Beasts Gold coins and the Queen’s Beasts Silver coins are produced according to the exacting standards of The Royal Mint and are backed for content and weight by the government of the United Kingdom. The tightly limited mintage of this series combined with its excellent quality and status of legal tender in the UK make these lovely Queen’s Beasts coins a desirable addition to any Precious Metals collection.