10 oz The Valiant Silver Coin

The Royal Mint's Incuse 10 oz Silver Bullion Coin

The 10 oz Valiant is a discontinued silver bullion coin from The Royal Mint, produced from 2018 to 2021. It holds a notable distinction: it was the first Royal Mint bullion coin to use incuse (recessed) design, where the image sits below the coin's surface rather than raised above it. At 311 grams of .9999 fine silver, it also carries a higher purity than the standard .999 used for most Royal Mint silver coins, including the silver Britannia.

The reverse depicts St George slaying the dragon, a motif with deep roots in British coinage. The original Pistrucci engraving of this scene has appeared on gold Sovereigns since 1817, but the Valiant used modern reinterpretations rather than that classic design. The inaugural 2018 reverse was designed by Emma Noble, with Etienne Millner taking over for the 2019 through 2021 editions. A guilloche background pattern on both sides adds visual complexity and serves as a security feature borrowed from banknote production.

Production ended after 2021 with no official discontinuation announcement. The Royal Mint launched a successor series called "St George and the Dragon" in 2024, which uses a different design and drops to .999 purity. This makes surviving Valiant coins the only .9999 fine silver coins in the St George lineage from the Royal Mint, a purity level typically associated with the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf.

For UK residents, the 10 oz Valiant carries the same CGT exemption as all Royal Mint legal tender coins. Its GBP 10 face value is nominal, but the legal tender status provides the tax benefit. Since these coins are no longer minted, supply is limited to dealer inventory and secondary market sales.

10 oz Valiant Silver Coin Specifications

Design by Year

The incuse design technique creates a recessed image that sits below the coin's surface, giving the Valiant a tactile quality distinct from conventional raised-relief coins. The guilloche background pattern on both sides is a further anti-counterfeiting measure, borrowed from banknote security design. The combination of incuse engraving and guilloche was a first for the Royal Mint's silver bullion range.

The .9999 purity (four nines) was unusual for the Royal Mint, which typically strikes silver bullion at .999 (three nines). The Britannia, Royal Arms, and the successor St George and the Dragon series all use .999. The Valiant remains the only Royal Mint silver bullion coin to have been produced at four-nines fineness, matching the standard set by the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf.

Valiant 10 oz Silver: Tax Treatment by Country

The Valiant is UK legal tender with a face value of GBP 10, providing the same tax benefits as the 10 oz Royal Arms and all other Royal Mint bullion coins.

In the United Kingdom, the Valiant is exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Silver coins are subject to 20% VAT on purchase. Pre-owned Valiant coins sold under the margin scheme carry VAT only on the dealer's margin, which can reduce the effective tax to a few percent. Since the Valiant is no longer minted, all secondary market purchases are potentially eligible for margin scheme treatment, depending on the dealer's sourcing.

International Tax Treatment

• United States: IRA-eligible. The .9999 purity comfortably exceeds the IRS minimum of .999 for silver in a precious metals IRA. State sales tax exemptions vary. Capital gains are taxed at the 28% collectibles rate.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt at .999+ purity. Not eligible for direct holding in RRSPs or TFSAs.
• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade silver at .999+ purity. 50% CGT discount applies for assets held over 12 months.
• EU: Silver coins attract standard VAT rates (17-27%). Margin scheme treatment available in Germany (Differenzbesteuerung) and the Netherlands (margeregeling) for qualifying coins.
• Singapore: GST-exempt under the Investment Precious Metals scheme at .999+ purity. No capital gains tax.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax, no import duty, no capital gains tax.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt for silver at .999+ purity. No formal capital gains tax.
• South Africa: Silver bullion is subject to 15% VAT with no exemption.

Valiant 10 oz vs Britannia, Royal Arms, and Maple Leaf

The Valiant's closest competitor is the 10 oz Royal Arms, the only other 10 oz silver bullion coin from The Royal Mint. Both share the same diameter (89mm), the same face value (GBP 10), and the same CGT exemption for UK residents. The key differences are purity and design: the Valiant is .9999 fine silver, the Royal Arms is .999. The Valiant's incuse design and guilloche background give it a different visual and tactile character from the Royal Arms' traditional raised-relief heraldic design.

The silver Britannia does not come in a 10 oz size. It is available at 1 oz and up to 1 kilogram, so buyers specifically looking for a 10 oz Royal Mint silver coin are choosing between the Valiant (secondary market) and the Royal Arms (still in production as of 2025). The Britannia's advanced security features (latent image, surface animation, micro-text, and tincture lines from 2021 onward) are absent from the Valiant, which relies on its guilloche pattern and incuse technique instead.

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf matches the Valiant's .9999 purity, but the Silver Maple Leaf is produced at 1 oz and 10 oz sizes. The RCM's Bullion DNA verification system provides individual coin-level authentication that neither the Valiant nor the Royal Arms can match. On purity alone, the Valiant and Maple Leaf are equivalent.

Since the Valiant was discontinued after 2021, its long-term availability depends entirely on secondary market supply. The Royal Arms remains in active production (for now, with 2025 described as the design's final year). For buyers prioritising ongoing availability and design consistency, the Royal Arms is the safer choice. For buyers who value the .9999 purity and the distinctive incuse design, the Valiant represents a finite-supply option from a major sovereign mint.