10oz Queen’s Beasts Dragon Silver Coin (2018)

10oz Silver Dragon Queen’s Beast

This is a 10oz silver bullion coin issued by The Royal Mint. Coins are issued in plastic capsules or 15 per box for bulk orders. Produced to high purity of 999.9, the huge 10oz Dragon contains 311.03 grams of silver. Like the rest of the 10oz versions of the popular Queen’s Beast silver series, the Dragon features a face value of £10, double that of its smaller 2oz version. Like all the British coins with a face value, the Dragon Beast qualifies as legal tender in the UK, making it free from Capital Gains Tax.

Design and background

The Dragon is the third in the series of 10 Queen’s Beast coins, produced by The Royal Mint to celebrate the ten heraldic beasts who guarded over Queen Elizabeth at our coronation in 1953. Each of the beasts were represented by a statue, sculpted by James Woodford, which stood proudly at Westminster Abbey and have now been moved to the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec. Still to this day, Kew Gardens houses stone replicas of the famous statues.

The coins have been released as gold bullion coins, and also as smaller 2oz silver coins.  Unusually the coins are issued semi-annually, with the last iteration set for release in 2020.

Dragon obverse

The obverse of the coin features the fifth portrait of Queen Elizabeth with the entire background benefiting from a dimpled effect for design and enhanced counterfeiting. The detailed reverse of the coin displays the Red Dragon of Wales in the centre, complete with forked tongue, wings, and holding a shield of four dragons in each quarter.

The edging of the reverse displays the Beast name, weight, purity and date of issue.

Our expert opinion

The Queen’s Beasts have been incredibly well-received in all its formats. As a limited issue coin and being part of a 10-part series, the coins benefit from strong silver collector’s demand. The fact that The Royal Mint have rolled out the series into a larger format demonstrates the high level of sales for the previous issues. It’s not uncommon for enthusiasts to collect all the beasts in all the sizes and metals.

The fact that this coin is super-sized, benefits the buyer in a number of ways. Most obviously, the satisfaction of holding a huge 10oz coin in your hand is fantastic. Secondly, the size enables the true beauty of the design to be enjoyed. Finally, the larger size reduced the overall production cost per gram, making the coin better value than smaller coins. The Dragon Beast’s bullion finish also targets value as a priority when compared to proof finish coins. The high liquidity and face value of the coin make it appealing for silver investors seeking a tax-free coin.

We’d expect these coins to rise in value quicker than standard mass issue coins such as the silver Britannia, due to its limited issue and collectibility.