Queen's Beasts / Britannia Lunar
Also: Queen's Beasts, King's Beasts, Royal Mint Bullion, GB Lunar
An umbrella name for the Royal Mint's British bullion ranges, released as themed editions that pair genuine investment value with real appeal to collectors.
For hundreds of years the Royal Mint in Britain has been synonymous with top-tier coinage, and its contemporary bullion lines — chiefly the Britannia, the Queen's Beasts and the British Lunar series — now sit among the world's most in-demand bullion coins. Because the premium (agio) swings substantially from one series and design to the next, checking the live gold price and silver price before you commit is always worthwhile.
Britannia
Gold Britannias date from 1987 and silver from 1997. Early gold strikes used 916.7 (22 carat), but since 2013 the coin has been produced at 999.9 fineness (fine gold); the silver counterpart runs to 999. The unmistakable design portrays Britannia herself, the personified emblem of the nation. The range covers:
| Weight | Fine weight (gold) | Dia. approx. (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 31.10 g | 32.7 |
| 1/2 oz | 15.55 g | 27.0 |
| 1/4 oz | 7.78 g | 22.0 |
| 1/10 oz | 3.11 g | 16.5 |
Within the UK, Britannias are legal tender. For Irish buyers the treatment runs like this: gold Britannias count as investment gold and carry no VAT. Any profit realised on sale, though, falls under Capital Gains Tax at 33% — Ireland offers no one-year holding exemption of the kind seen in Germany. Silver Britannias are charged the standard Irish VAT rate of 23%, and where a dealer runs a margin scheme, margin taxation can come into play. None of this constitutes personal tax advice.
Queen's Beasts (2016-2021)
The Queen's Beasts line features ten heraldic creatures, modelled on the statues that lined the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Every one appeared both as a 2-ounce silver coin and as a 1-ounce gold coin:
- Lion of England (2016)
- Griffin of Edward III (2017)
- Red Dragon of Wales (2017)
- Unicorn of Scotland (2018)
- Black Bull of Clarence (2018)
- Falcon of the Plantagenets (2019)
- White Lion of Mortimer (2019)
- White Horse of Hanover (2020)
- White Greyhound of Richmond (2020)
- Yale of Beaufort (2021)
With all ten designs now struck, the collection is finished, and complete sets frequently trade at pronounced premiums to their metal content on the secondary market. Use the Coin Weight Checker to confirm the gross weight of any single piece at a glance.
British Lunar series
Taking its cue from the more famous Australian Lunar series of the Perth Mint, the Royal Mint has released an annual Lunar coin since 2014, each carrying that year's Chinese zodiac animal. The fineness reaches 999.9 for gold and 999 for silver, and capped mintages help sustain collector value over time.
Melt value (gold, 1 oz) = fine weight (31.1035 g) x current gold price per gram
The short version
Britannia, Queen's Beasts and British Lunars are top-quality bullion coins with globally recognised fineness and strong liquidity. Anyone wanting to blend investment substance with collector interest will find plenty to like here — just remember to build the premium over the spot price into your sums.