British Queen's Beasts Silver Series

The British Queen's Beasts Silver Series is a Royal Mint bullion program that reimagines the ten heraldic statues originally created for Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation, each representing a beast tied to the queen's royal lineage. Each coin in the series is struck in .999 fine silver and features one beast per release, issued over several years to complete the set.

The series covers beasts including the Lion of England, the Griffin of Edward III, the Red Dragon of Wales, the Unicorn of Scotland, and others, each rendered in detailed bullion coin form primarily in one-ounce weight, alongside smaller fractional and larger formats in some releases.

Its combination of heraldic history and strong bullion demand made it one of the Royal Mint's most successful modern bullion series, drawing collectors interested in British royal symbolism as well as investors seeking UK-minted silver.

The original Queen's Beasts were ten large stone statues commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, each depicting a heraldic creature associated with the genealogy of the British monarchy, sculpted by James Woodford and displayed outside Westminster Abbey. The Royal Mint drew on this heritage to launch a coin series beginning in 2016, starting with the Lion of England.

The series was released sequentially, with a new beast introduced roughly every few months to a year, concluding with the tenth and final beast, the Queen's Beasts Completer coin, which combined all ten creatures on a single design to mark the series' conclusion around 2021.

The program proved highly popular among both bullion investors, due to strong demand and relatively affordable premiums in its early years, and collectors, due to the historical and heraldic significance of each beast, cementing it as one of the Royal Mint's flagship modern series.

The obverse across the series carries a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, with the specific effigy depending on the release year, along with the denomination and year. The reverse features one heraldic beast per coin, such as a lion, griffin, dragon, unicorn, greyhound, black bull, falcon, yale, panther, or the horse of Hanover, each shown standing and holding or beside a shield bearing relevant heraldic arms.

Standard one-ounce coins are struck in .999 fine silver with a £2 face value, roughly 40 mm in diameter, bearing the Royal Mint's mark. Fractional sizes and larger formats, including 2 oz, 10 oz, and kilo coins, were produced for some beasts in the series, and gold versions were also released in parallel.

Collectors identify individual coins by the specific beast depicted and its accompanying shield, and distinguish the final 'Completer' coin, which uniquely arranges all ten beasts together, from the ten individual single-beast releases that preceded it.

Value for common bullion-strike coins from the series tracks the spot price of silver, with premiums that were notably attractive in the series' early years compared to some other national bullion coins, contributing to its strong investor popularity.

Certain early releases, particularly the first coin (Lion of England) and lower-mintage beasts, along with proof and special finish versions, can carry collector premiums above bullion value. The Completer coin, marking the series' conclusion, has also drawn strong collector interest.

As with all silver bullion, prices fluctuate with the metals market, and completing a full ten-coin set can represent a meaningful collecting project with variable costs depending on which individual coins are sought.