Myths and Legends Platinum

Platinum Myths and Legends from The Royal Mint

Myths and Legends is The Royal Mint's themed bullion series drawing on British folklore and mythology, launched in 2021 with Robin Hood and continuing through King Arthur, Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, and the Beowulf saga. The platinum version brings these designs to the densest and rarest of the three bullion metals, offering UK buyers a coin that combines the storytelling appeal of annually changing designs with the practical advantage of CGT exemption as UK legal tender.

The series is structured as three-coin story arcs: Robin Hood (2021-2022), King Arthur (2023-2024), and Beowulf (2024-2025), each exploring a different corner of British legend. Unlike the fixed-design Platinum Britannia, the Myths and Legends range offers collectors a reason to acquire new coins each year, building a set that traces a narrative arc across multiple releases.

For platinum buyers specifically, the Myths and Legends coin occupies an interesting position. It is one of the few platinum coins available from a major sovereign mint that is not the mint's flagship platinum product. The Britannia is The Royal Mint's primary platinum offering, with stronger liquidity and wider dealer recognition. The Myths and Legends platinum coin appeals to buyers who want the same legal tender protections and tax treatment as the Britannia but prefer a different design, or who are collecting the full Myths and Legends range across metals.

The transition from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III during the series adds a numismatic dimension. Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian, King Arthur, and Merlin carry the late Queen's portrait (Jody Clark effigy), while Morgan Le Fay and the Beowulf collection feature the new King's portrait (Martin Jennings effigy). This makes the earlier Elizabeth II issues the only Myths and Legends coins with her portrait, a distinction that may attract collectors over time.

Platinum Myths and Legends Specifications

The 999.5 purity (99.95%) matches the standard used by all major sovereign platinum coins, including the American Platinum Eagle, Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf, and the Royal Mint's own Platinum Britannia. This purity exceeds the minimum thresholds for tax-exempt treatment in Canada (99%), Australia (99%), New Zealand (99%), and Singapore (99%).

The Myths and Legends platinum coin shares its dimensions with other Royal Mint 1 oz platinum issues. Platinum's high density (21.45 g/cm3) means the coin is noticeably compact relative to a silver coin of the same weight: 32.69 mm diameter versus 38.61 mm for the 1 oz silver version. The milled edge provides a tactile anti-counterfeiting feature.

Unlike the Britannia, which incorporates surface animation and tincture security technologies, the Myths and Legends bullion coins rely on Royal Mint provenance and dealer authentication for verification. Proof editions with limited mintages (500-2,510 per issue) are produced alongside the bullion versions, but the standard bullion coins are not individually numbered or mintage-capped.

Myths and Legends Platinum: Tax Advantages for UK Buyers

The Myths and Legends platinum coin's UK legal tender status gives it a tax profile that is unusual among platinum bullion products, combining one significant advantage with one unavoidable cost.

The advantage: CGT exemption. As UK legal tender, the Myths and Legends platinum coin is exempt from Capital Gains Tax on disposal. This is the same exemption that applies to gold and silver Britannias, Sovereigns, and other Royal Mint legal tender coins. For platinum specifically, this is a meaningful benefit because most platinum bullion products (bars, foreign coins) are CGT-liable. A UK investor who buys a Myths and Legends platinum coin and sells it years later at a higher price pays no CGT on the gain, regardless of the amount. The 1 oz Platinum Britannia shares this advantage.

The unavoidable cost: 20% VAT. Unlike gold, platinum bullion is not VAT-exempt in the UK. The Myths and Legends platinum coin, like all platinum products, attracts 20% VAT on purchase. This applies regardless of the coin's legal tender status or Royal Mint origin. A UK buyer therefore pays a 20% markup above the dealer's ex-VAT price. VAT-free vault storage is available through some dealers as a workaround: the coin remains in a bonded facility and no VAT is charged until physical delivery is taken.

United States: Not specifically listed as IRA-eligible by name, but the .9995 platinum fineness meets the generic bullion standard in IRS Section 408(m). Royal Mint coins are generally accepted by US precious metals IRA custodians. Capital gains are taxed at up to 28%. Most states exempt bullion from sales tax.

Canada: GST/HST-exempt at 99.5% purity. The coin qualifies.

Australia: GST-free at 99% purity in investment form. CGT applies with a 50% discount for holdings over 12 months.

Singapore: Platinum coins at 99% purity that are or were legal tender qualify as IPM, exempt from 9% GST. The Myths and Legends coin meets both conditions. No CGT.

South Africa: Platinum carries 15% VAT with no exemption. No equivalent of the gold Krugerrand's zero-rating exists for platinum.

British Folklore on Platinum: The Myths and Legends Story Arcs

The Royal Mint launched Myths and Legends in 2021 as a successor to the Queen's Beasts series (2016-2021), which had established the model for themed annual bullion collections featuring British heritage subjects. Where the Queen's Beasts drew from heraldic tradition, Myths and Legends turns to folklore and literature, choosing subjects with international name recognition.

The first collection opened with Robin Hood in 2021, arguably the most globally recognised figure from British legend. Little John followed in 2022, then Maid Marian completed the Sherwood Forest trio. The designs capture the characters in dynamic compositions: Robin as the outlaw archer, Little John as his formidable lieutenant, Maid Marian as his companion. Each coin's reverse was designed to stand alone as a complete image while contributing to a thematic set.

The second collection moved to Camelot with King Arthur (2023), Merlin (2023), and Morgan Le Fay (2024). This arc introduced the monarch transition: King Arthur and Merlin carry Queen Elizabeth II's portrait on the obverse (the Jody Clark effigy), while Morgan Le Fay was the first Myths and Legends coin to feature King Charles III (the Martin Jennings portrait). The switch happened naturally as The Royal Mint updated all its coinage following the late Queen's death in September 2022.

The third and current collection draws from the oldest source in the series: Beowulf, the earliest surviving long poem in Old English, dated to approximately 700-1000 AD. Beowulf and Grendel (2024, designed by David Lawrence) depicts the hero's confrontation with the monster. Beowulf and Grendel's Mother (2025) and Beowulf and the Dragon (2025) complete the three-part narrative drawn directly from the poem's three major conflicts.

The series runs concurrently with The Royal Mint's Tudor Beasts collection (2023 onwards), which focuses on heraldic creatures from the Tudor period. This gives collectors two distinct themed ranges to follow alongside the evergreen Britannia, a strategy that borrows from the Perth Mint's approach of maintaining multiple parallel bullion series (Lunar, Kookaburra, Koala) to sustain collector interest across years.

Myths and Legends Platinum vs Britannia and Other Sovereign Coins

The most direct comparison for the Myths and Legends platinum coin is The Royal Mint's own 1 oz Platinum Britannia. Both are UK legal tender, both are CGT-exempt, both carry 999.5 platinum at 1 oz, and both attract the same 20% VAT on purchase. The differences come down to design, security, and liquidity.

The Britannia features a fixed design that does not change from year to year (the iconic Britannia figure by Philip Nathan), plus advanced surface animation and tincture security features that make it one of the most secure bullion coins in production. Its established reputation means wider dealer recognition and tighter buy-sell spreads. For a platinum investor whose primary concern is efficient exposure to the metal with the best possible resale liquidity, the Britannia is the stronger choice.

The Myths and Legends coin offers annually changing designs and the appeal of building a thematic collection. It lacks the Britannia's security features but shares all of its legal and tax characteristics. For UK buyers who plan to hold platinum long-term and value the collecting dimension, the Myths and Legends coin provides variety without sacrificing the CGT exemption. The annual design changes also mean that specific coins (particularly the Elizabeth II portrait issues from 2021-2023) may develop numismatic premiums above their platinum content over time.

Against international competitors, the Myths and Legends coin's CGT exemption is its defining advantage for UK residents. The American Platinum Eagle offers greater liquidity in North America and explicit IRA eligibility, but UK buyers gain no CGT benefit from holding foreign coins. The Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf is competitively priced with strong global recognition, but again provides no UK tax advantage.

Among themed platinum coins from sovereign mints, the Myths and Legends range has limited direct competition. The Perth Mint does not currently produce themed platinum coin series comparable to its gold and silver Lunar range. The Austrian Mint's Platinum Philharmonic uses a fixed design. The Myths and Legends platinum coin is one of the few sovereign-mint platinum products offering annually changing artwork, a niche it shares with the American Platinum Eagle (which changes its reverse design yearly in proof editions, though the bullion version uses a fixed design).