1oz Gold Unicorn Queens Beast

1oz Gold Queen’s Beast Unicorn

The 1oz Gold Queen’s beast Unicorn is the latest coin minted in the Royal Mint’s Queen’s Beast Collection.

This is bullion finish coin, issued by the Royal Mint. Coins will be packaged loose for small quantities and may come in Royal Mint tubes of 10 for larger orders.

The Unicorn is the next in the list of the 10 statues that lined the entrance of Westminster Abbey in 1953 at the coronation of Her Majesty the Queen.

The Unicorn of Scotland follows the Lion of England, The Griffin of Edward III and the Dragon of Wales.

It is struck in 999.9 fine gold and is designed on both sides by Jody Clark, the Royal Mint coin designer. This in itself is unusual, with all other Royal Mint series featuring different designers for obverse and reverse. Like it’s Silver Unicorn version, this benefits the coin by having consistency in design. The Silver Queen’s Beasts coins are also remarkable as they represented the first 2oz silver coin to ever be produced in the UK. Coins are also minted in proof and platinum versions.

The face value of this coin is £100 but any profits made from its sale are not liable to Capital Gains Tax as it is UK legal tender.

Understanding the gold price per oz – a video from Physical Gold

The Queen’s Beasts

The Queen’s Beasts are a collection of 10 statues said to represent the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II.

These statues stood in front of the entrance of Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s coronation.

Each beast has a shield bearing a badge or coat of arms from a family of the Queen’s ancestry and for the coronation, they were uncoloured except for their shield.

The 10 Beasts are:

The Lion of England

The White Greyhound of Richmond

The Yale of Beaufort

The Red Dragon of Wales

The White Horse of Hanover

The White Lion of Mortimer

The Unicorn of Scotland

The Griffin of Edward III

The Black Bull of Clarence

The Falcon of the Plantagenets

These beasts were originally made for Henry VIII and his third Queen, Jane Seymour.

Each one is made in plaster, is 6 feet tall and weighs roughly 700lbs.

The shields are currently in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau and although only the shield was originally coloured, they were fully painted for the celebrations of the Canadian federation in 1967.

Our expert opinion

Another stunning coin from the Royal Mint. Like other UK coins such as the Lunar series, the Queen’s Beasts coins can be classified as collectable as well as appealing to investors. The series varies from the Lunar and many other UK coins in that its release schedule is semi-annual, launching 2 new coins per year. Every other series or coin gets an annual release or update. This lends the series to be at the forefront of gold enthusiasts minds with a beautiful new coin released every 6 months.

The coins have an additional story to tell with their focus of the various beasts, which makes them different from other brand-new coins such as the Gold Sovereign. Premiums for the coins are slightly higher than the 1oz Britannia, but they may well fetch more in the future due to their collectability and appeal.

We’d suggest trying to own at least one of all the Queen’s Beasts series as full sets may well fetch a handsome fee in the future. For larger investments, consider combining the coins with the Lunar series, older Sovereigns to provide divisibility and Britannias for value.