2020 White Lion of Mortimer, Queen's Beast - 1oz Gold Coin

This beautiful 2020 1oz gold White Lion of Mortimer is the eighth of a series of ten from the "Queen's Beasts" range of Royal Mint coins. These are ten statues which stood guard outside Westminster Abbey for the Queen's Coronation, sculpted by J.Woodford RA in 1953.

The coin is 24-carat (or 999.9 purity) and contains one ounce of gold. Just like other British currency, this coin is exempt from Capital Gains Tax.  Both the obverse and reverse are designed by the Royal Mint's Jody Clark.

The White Lion of Mortimer is another beast inherited by the Queen from Edward IV of the House of York and it was a favoured symbol of King George VI - Queen Elizabeth II's father - prior to his coronation.

The Mortimer lion has no crown and has a blue tongue. This lion also sits, rather than rearing up, and holds a Yorkist shield bearing a ‘white rose en soleil’ (golden sun) on a half and half background.

The Queen's Beasts statues are still standing, but are currently housed at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec. Stone replicas can be found at Kew Gardens.

A note to collectors: The Queen's Beast series of coins will be issued one-by-one by The Royal Mint up until 2020. If you intend to collect this range, we will not have access to these earlier coins by 2020 as they are limited edition, so you will need to purchase them individually as they become available (roughly every six months)..

Learn more about the Royal Mint Queen's Beast series, including future releases.