The Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins from the United Kingdom are part of an intriguing new British coin series that spans ten years and ten designs. These coin themes and designs are properly based on the 10 heraldic beasts who stood watch over Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation over 60 years ago, and are brought to you by the historical and well esteemed Royal Mint. In 1953, James Woodford created these for the Westminster Abbey ceremony. The ten monsters are based on the King’s Beasts of the infamous English King Henry VIII, which can still be seen on the moat bridge at his favourite Hampton Court Palace.
United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins Background and History
The lion, gryphon, bull, falcon, yale, dragon, greyhound, unicorn, and horse are among the 10 mythical and ancient creatures depicted on the United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins. The portraits of these genuine and mythical creatures for the coin series were designed by Jody Clark, a brilliant Royal Mint Coin Designer. The Barbary Lion was the first in this fascinating and distinctive series. This national symbol of England has a long and illustrious history with the country’s kings, dating back to the early Middle Ages. Although the lion sign emerged in royal heraldry throughout England long before King Richard the Lionheart’s brief but highly famous and memorable ten-year reign in the later years of the 12th century, he was the first British king to be referred to as a “lion.” Royal lions may be found all across Britain today, from national monuments like Trafalgar Square to the logos of major English sporting clubs like the England National Cricket Team.
The famed British Royal Mint is one of the world’s oldest continuously operational institutions. More than 1,100 years ago, it began striking coins for England and, eventually, Great Britain (once it was formed). In England, the practise of minting coins dates back to the early Anglo Saxons in the 650s A.D. By the middle of the seventh century, moneyers in London were already minting coins for the kingdom of Essex. Under King Alfred the Great’s reign, the London Mint became the official site of the Royal Mint in 886, though other mints continued to exist and operate throughout England at the time. In 1279, the London Mint established a long-term residence in the Tower of London, where it remained operational for about 500 years, until practically the year 1800. This venerable coining organisation is also linked to great scientist icon and founding father Sir Isaac Newton. In 1696, he was appointed Warden of the Mint, then Master of the Mint until his death in 1727. In 1717, he made the vital decision to switch England from the previous Silver Standard (hence the currency name Pound Sterling) to the then-new Gold Standard.
The Royal Mint of the United Kingdom now produces coins and military medals for the United Kingdom as well as other Commonwealth nations. Throughout almost a thousand years of British history, this Royal Mint has endured the test of time and witnessed several notable kings and queens. It has survived several political upheavals, technical and industrial revolutions, and scientific and medical achievements, all of which the country has been pleased to take credit for and lead for more than three centuries.
United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins Physical Characteristics
United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins come in only a single one troy ounce size with an impressive 100 British pounds sterling face value denomination.
Coin Design
The “obverse” refers to the coin’s front side. The portrait of the adored British and Commonwealth queen and Head of State Queen Elizabeth II appears on the United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins. The face value of 100 Pounds is also depicted on the coin.
The back side of coins is known as the “reverse.” Each year of the ten-year series, the reverse of the United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins will vary. The mythical and beautiful British lion was shown in the first year. This beast is the crowned golden lion of historic England, which has defended the Royal Arms since James I, Stuart ruler of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, gained the throne in 1603. The lion wears a shield with the United Kingdom’s coat of arms, as it has been since Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1837. The lions of England can be found on the last and first quarters of this magnificent heraldic shield. The Scottish lion occupies the second quarter of the shield. The harp of Ireland, which represents today’s Northern Ireland, is depicted in the third quarter of the shield. The year of mintage, metal weight, and metal purity are all listed on this side of the coin.
Specifications
These coins are struck in only the single size of one troy ounce. Their dimensions are as follows:
- Mass: 1 troy oz
- Diameter: 32.69 mm
- Thickness: 2.7 mm
- Purity: 99.99% gold
United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins Pricing
The usual face value of the United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins is 100 British pounds sterling. All of the coins in this series are legal tender in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which means you can use them in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for everyday purchases. In practise, no one would ever do this because their inherent value is significantly larger. The intrinsic value of these coins is mostly determined by their one ounce gold content and the current gold spot price.
The market value is primarily determined by its intrinsic worth. A significant premium of roughly $55 per coin is also paid above the spot price of gold. This relevant intrinsic value is used to calculate the worth of portfolios that contain them. Because the Royal Mint incurs significant costs in creating and distributing these coins, they trade at a premium. Every day that the international gold markets are open and trading, the market value of such coins grows and falls in lockstep with world gold prices. By going to our homepage, you can see the current gold prices in real time.
Can IRA Accounts Contain United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins?
If you’re thinking about buying these United Kingdom Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins for retirement, you’ll want to know if you can use your IRA funds to do so. Whether or not coins can be legitimately incorporated in these retirement vehicles is a matter for the Internal Revenue Service. To determine which coins you are authorised to acquire and store in your self-directed IRAs, the IRS uses a strict dual standard approval procedure based on both the gold purity of the coins and their collectability nature.
To get started, you’ll need to pre-fund the account with at least $5,000 in IRS-approved bullion gold and/or silver. Once you’ve done that, you may rest certain that you can add more coins and bars to your collection starting at $1,000. If you already have a traditional IRA account, you can easily convert it to a precious metals IRA. Your IRA account administrator will be compelled by IRS laws to transship your fresh bullion shipment to an approved third-party depository, which will vault and safe preserve your bullion holdings on your behalf.
Despite the fact that these gold coins meet the IRS’s minimal purity standard of.995 fineness, they are not permitted to be held in IRA accounts due to their high and impressive.9999 purity levels. This is due to their huge collectibility premium, which is almost $50 higher than the current price per gold coin. Despite the fact that Her Majesty’s Queen’s Beasts Gold Coins cannot be added to IRA retirement vehicles, they should be considered for other forms of retirement and investment portfolios. You can buy them directly from the Royal Mint website or from any reputable coin or jewellery vendor in Europe or throughout the world that stocks them.
