This beautiful 2019 1oz gold Falcon is the sixth of a series of ten that will feature the "Queen's Beasts". These are ten statues which stood guard outside Westminster Abbey for the Queen's Coronation, sculpted by J. Woodford RA in 1953.
The sixth coin features the Falcon of the Plantagenets and has a beautiful high relief. 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.
The Royal Mint issued an initial 5,000 coins, though the Queen's Beast series is officially of unlimited mintage until the end of the year of issue..
Both the obverse and reverse are designed by the Royal Mint's Jody Clark. The Falcon on the reverse is a symbol of the House of Plantagenets; one of the many Royal houses to rule. The bird of prey sits upon a shield, within which is a picture of another falcon sat upon a fetterlock, or padlock. The Houses of York, Lancaster, and the Tudors were all descendents of the Plantagenets, and all used falcons and fetterlocks often in their heraldry.
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)..