1 oz The Lion and The Eagle Silver Coin

The Royal Mint's Anglo-American Bullion Coin

The 1 oz Lion and the Eagle is a silver bullion coin from The Royal Mint that unites two national heraldic symbols: the British lion and the American bald eagle. Launched in 2024, the series was designed to appeal to both the UK and US bullion markets simultaneously. The inaugural reverse was created by John M. Mercanti, the former 12th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, best known for designing the reverse of the American Silver Eagle. Mercanti is the only person to have designed official bullion coins for both the US Mint and The Royal Mint.

The coin is .999 fine silver, 38.61 mm in diameter, with a £2 face value making it UK legal tender and therefore CGT-exempt for UK residents. It is struck as an unlimited-mintage bullion programme, not a limited collector series, with packaging in individual capsules, tubes of 20, and monster boxes of 500. This positions it as a mainstream bullion coin competing on premiums and liquidity rather than scarcity.

For buyers in the 1 oz silver coin market, the Lion and the Eagle offers the full tax advantages of Royal Mint legal tender combined with a distinctive transatlantic theme. The Mercanti connection gives it immediate recognition in the American market, where his Silver Eagle reverse is iconic. The 2026 issue introduces a new reverse by Jonathan Olliffe, confirming this as a rotating-design series with a new artist each year or two. Fractional gold sizes (1/10 oz and 1/4 oz) and a 1/2 oz silver were added in 2025, broadening the range.

The series is young, with only two years of production as of 2026, and does not yet have the market depth or secondary market history of established Royal Mint programmes like the Silver Britannia. Its long-term positioning will depend on whether the rotating designs and the Anglo-American theme build sustained collector interest alongside the bullion buyer base.

Lion and the Eagle Denominations and Dimensions

All versions have a reeded edge and BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) finish. Packaging scales from individual capsules to tubes of 10 (gold) or 20 (silver) and monster boxes of 100 (gold) or 500 (silver). The monster box format indicates The Royal Mint targets institutional and high-volume buyers alongside retail purchasers.

Design Timeline

The Mercanti design places the eagle in the foreground gazing left, with the British lion standing behind. The lion's paw extends beyond the central enclosed circle, creating a layered three-dimensional effect. Proof and collector editions exist alongside the bullion range, including a 5 oz silver proof and a 2 oz silver reverse proof with Liberty Bell privy mark targeted at the US market. The obverse features the Martin Jennings portrait of King Charles III.

Lion and the Eagle Tax Treatment by Country

As UK legal tender from The Royal Mint, the Lion and the Eagle benefits from the same tax treatment as the Britannia. This is the strongest position available for silver coins in the UK market.

United Kingdom

Silver is subject to 20% VAT at the point of purchase. This applies to all silver bullion in the UK, including legal tender coins. The key advantage: the Lion and the Eagle is CGT-exempt on disposal as UK legal tender. Profits from selling the coin are not subject to Capital Gains Tax at any level. This exemption does not apply to silver coins from other nations, including those from British Overseas Territories. For buyers expecting silver to appreciate, the CGT exemption can offset the initial VAT cost over time. The coin is also eligible for inclusion in a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) as qualifying UK legal tender bullion.

United States

No federal sales tax. State-level exemptions cover precious metals in approximately 35 states. States with threshold-based exemptions include California (over $2,000), Florida (over $500), and New York (over $1,000). IRA eligibility has not been widely confirmed by major US dealers for this specific series, despite the .999 purity meeting the IRS 99.9% minimum. The Mercanti connection may help with market acceptance, but IRA qualification should be confirmed with your custodian. Capital gains are taxed at the 28% collectibles rate for long-term holdings.

Canada

GST/HST-exempt as foreign legal tender silver bullion at 99.9% or higher purity.

European Union

Gold coins qualify for VAT exemption under the EU Investment Gold Directive. Silver is subject to the standard VAT rate of each member state (19% Germany, 21% Netherlands, 23% Ireland, etc.). Margin scheme taxation on pre-owned examples may be available in Germany and the Netherlands.

Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore

Australia exempts investment-grade silver at 99.9% purity from GST. New Zealand exempts fine silver at 99.9% from GST (15%). Singapore's IPM scheme covers qualifying silver. Hong Kong has no sales tax on bullion.

Lion and Eagle vs Britannia, St George, and American Silver Eagle

The Lion and the Eagle's most direct competitor is the 1 oz Silver Britannia. Both are .999 fine silver, 38.61 mm, £2 face value, UK legal tender, CGT-exempt, and unlimited-mintage bullion coins from The Royal Mint. The Britannia has decades of market presence, global dealer recognition, tight buy-sell spreads, and four named visual security features (latent image, surface animation, micro-text, tincture lines) designed specifically for authentication. The Lion and Eagle uses standard Royal Mint anti-counterfeiting techniques but does not match the Britannia's dedicated security system. For pure bullion investment with maximum liquidity, the Britannia remains the stronger choice.

The Lion and Eagle's advantage is the design programme. The rotating reverse by prominent coin designers (Mercanti, Olliffe) makes each vintage visually distinct, potentially building collector interest that the fixed-design Britannia does not generate. The transatlantic theme also gives the coin a marketing angle in the US market that the Britannia, with its purely British iconography, does not have.

The 1 oz St George and the Dragon is the other annually designed Royal Mint silver bullion series, also launched in 2024. Both carry identical specifications, CGT exemption, and the same face value. St George has deeper roots in British numismatics (the motif dates to 1526) and the cultural resonance of England's patron saint. The Lion and Eagle has the Mercanti involvement and the Anglo-American angle. UK buyers choosing between the two are making a purely thematic decision, as the tax and liquidity characteristics are identical.

Against the American Silver Eagle, the comparison highlights regional preferences. The Eagle has the largest mintage and strongest brand recognition of any silver bullion coin globally. It carries higher premiums than most sovereign silver due to US collector demand, but its liquidity and buyback market are unmatched. The Lion and Eagle cannot compete on volume or market depth, but it offers the Mercanti design connection alongside UK legal tender CGT exemption that the American Eagle does not provide for UK buyers.