10 oz Tudor Beasts Silver Round

The 10 oz Tudor Beasts Silver Round

The 10 oz Tudor Beasts silver round is produced by The Royal Mint as part of a ten-design series released between 2022 and 2026. Each design depicts one of the heraldic beasts from the King's Beasts stone statues on the Moat Bridge of Hampton Court Palace, originally placed there by Henry VIII. The series is the successor to the Queen's Beasts (2016-2021) and runs concurrently with the Britannia as a collector-investor crossover product.

At 999.9 fine silver (four nines), the Tudor Beasts achieves higher purity than the Royal Mint's own Silver Britannia (999 fine, three nines). This purity parity with the Queen's Beasts is a deliberate positioning for the Royal Mint's "beasts" franchise. The 10 oz format is a large-denomination bullion piece with a face value of £10 and a diameter of 89mm.

The critical differentiator for UK buyers is CGT exemption. As UK legal tender, all Tudor Beasts coins (gold, silver, and platinum) are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. This is unusual for silver bullion in the UK, where most silver products carry both 20% VAT on purchase and CGT liability on disposal. The Tudor Beasts and Britannia are among the few silver products that escape the exit tax, making the higher purchase premium potentially worthwhile over a long holding period.

Tudor Beasts 10 oz Silver Specifications

The Ten Beasts

The guilloche patterned background on bullion versions serves both an aesthetic and security function. All reverses are designed by David Lawrence, a sculptor and illustrator with over 30 years of experience. The obverse transitioned from Elizabeth II (Jody Clark portrait, 2022 issues) to Charles III (Martin Jennings portrait, 2023 onward).

Tudor Beasts Tax Advantages

The Tudor Beasts series carries meaningful tax advantages in the UK that most silver bullion does not. As UK legal tender with stated face values, all Tudor Beasts coins qualify for Capital Gains Tax exemption under HMRC rules.

• United Kingdom (CGT): Exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Any profit on disposal is tax-free. This is the primary financial reason to choose Tudor Beasts over generic silver bars or rounds, which face 18-24% CGT on gains above the £3,000 annual allowance.
• United Kingdom (VAT): 20% VAT still applies on purchase. The CGT exemption does not extend to purchase tax. Silver Tudor Beasts are VAT-liable like all silver in the UK.
• United States: Not IRA-eligible (not a US-issued coin). Subject to standard 28% collectibles CGT rate on disposal. No sales tax advantage.
• European Union: Silver versions subject to local VAT rates (17-27% depending on country). Gold Tudor Beasts may qualify for the EU Investment Gold Directive VAT exemption where applicable.
• Canada: Subject to GST/HST. The .9999 purity exceeds the Canadian threshold for exemption, so the silver versions should be GST-exempt.
• Australia: GST-free at .9999 purity as investment-grade precious metal.
• Singapore: GST-exempt under the IPM scheme at .999+ purity.

The CGT exemption makes the Tudor Beasts one of the most tax-efficient silver bullion products available to UK residents. The calculation is straightforward: if gains over a holding period would exceed the CGT annual allowance, the Tudor Beasts' higher purchase premium (including VAT) may be recovered through tax savings at disposal. For large holdings or long time horizons, this advantage compounds.

Hampton Court and the Tudor Heraldic Beasts

The beasts depicted in this series are based on stone statues that stand on the Moat Bridge at Hampton Court Palace in southwest London. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey originally built the bridge from 1514 as part of his grand residence. After Wolsey fell from favour in 1529, Henry VIII acquired Hampton Court and made it one of his principal palaces.

Henry VIII populated the bridge and grounds with heraldic beast statues representing his lineage, marriages, and territorial claims. The original statues deteriorated over centuries; the current bridge statues are 20th-century replicas carved by Joseph Cribb in the 1930s based on historical records and surviving fragments.

Each beast holds a shield bearing relevant heraldic arms. The Seymour Panther and Seymour Unicorn represent Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife and mother of Edward VI. The Lion of England is the ancient royal emblem. The Yale of Beaufort traces to Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother and a key figure in establishing the Tudor dynasty. The Tudor Dragon represents the Welsh origins of the family (Henry VII's grandfather Owen Tudor was Welsh).

David Lawrence designed all ten reverses, reinterpreting the Hampton Court statues for a numismatic format. His designs present the beasts in dynamic, detailed poses that differ from the cleaner heraldic approach used by Jody Clark for the predecessor Queen's Beasts series. The series straddles the reign transition from Elizabeth II to Charles III, with coins from 2023 onward bearing the Martin Jennings portrait of the new King.