The Valiant Silver

The Royal Mint's Four-Nines Silver Anomaly

The Valiant is a silver bullion coin series from The Royal Mint that ran from 2018 to 2021. It depicted St George slaying the dragon in a modern reinterpretation of the theme made famous by Benedetto Pistrucci's 1817 gold Sovereign design. The series introduced two firsts for the Royal Mint: it was the first silver bullion coin to use an incuse (recessed) reverse design, and it was struck in .9999 fine silver (four nines), a purity level the Royal Mint does not use for its other silver bullion ranges.

That purity distinction is the Valiant's most significant characteristic for buyers today. The Silver Britannia is struck at .999 (three nines). The successor series, titled "St George and the Dragon" and launched in 2024, also reverted to .999. This makes the Valiant the only Royal Mint silver bullion coin ever produced at .9999, matching the standard set by the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf.

Two denominations were produced: the 1 oz coin (38.61 mm diameter, GBP 2 face value) and the 10 oz coin (89 mm diameter, GBP 10 face value). Both carry UK legal tender status with all the tax implications that brings: CGT exemption for UK residents and VAT-free purchase as investment bullion. The series was discontinued without a formal announcement after the 2021 issue.

Valiant Specifications by Size

Design and Security

The reverse design was created by Emma Noble for the 2018 inaugural issue, then redesigned by Etienne Millner for 2019 through 2021, showing St George in dynamic combat with the dragon. The obverse carried Jody Clark's fifth-generation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II across all years of production.

Security features include the incuse reverse design (a first for Royal Mint silver bullion at the time), a guilloche background pattern on both obverse and reverse, frosted design elements creating contrast against the background field, and a reeded edge. The Valiant did not include the four-feature security suite (latent image, surface animation, micro-text, tincture lines) found on the Britannia series. The 2024 successor St George and the Dragon series added micro-text security not present on the original Valiant. The incuse technique, in which design elements are recessed below the surface rather than raised above it, creates a distinctive tactile quality that is especially apparent on the larger 10 oz denomination.

Valiant Tax Treatment by Country

United Kingdom

The Valiant's tax position is identical to the Britannia and Sovereign. As UK legal tender, the coins are CGT-exempt for UK residents regardless of the gain realised on sale. Investment gold and silver bullion coins are also VAT-free. This combination makes the Valiant one of the most tax-efficient silver products available to UK buyers. The 20% VAT that applies to non-legal-tender silver (bars, rounds, foreign coins) does not apply here, and the CGT exemption means profits on disposal are entirely untaxed regardless of size.

United States

The .9999 silver purity exceeds the IRS minimum of 99.9% for precious metals IRAs, making the Valiant IRA-eligible. Capital gains on sale are taxed at the federal collectibles rate of 28% for long-term holdings. State sales tax varies; approximately 35 states exempt bullion purchases.

European Union

The Valiant's legal tender status under UK law does not confer any tax advantages in EU jurisdictions. Silver coins are subject to the standard VAT rate of the buyer's country, which ranges from 17% (Luxembourg) to 27% (Hungary). The margin scheme may apply to pre-owned Valiant coins in Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, reducing the effective tax to the dealer's margin.

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

In Canada, silver at 99.9%+ purity is GST/HST-exempt, and the Valiant qualifies. In Australia, silver at 99.9%+ purity is GST-free. In New Zealand, silver at 99.9%+ purity is GST-exempt. The .9999 purity comfortably exceeds all three thresholds. No special CGT treatment applies outside the UK.

Four Years of Incuse Design

The Valiant launched in 2018 as a complement to the Royal Mint's existing silver Britannia. The name references the chivalric ideal of bravery, and the St George and the Dragon motif connects the series to the Royal Mint's oldest bullion tradition: Pistrucci's 1817 design for the gold Sovereign, which has depicted St George on horseback slaying the dragon for over two centuries.

The 2018 reverse was designed by Emma Noble and introduced the incuse technique to Royal Mint silver bullion. Incuse designs are recessed into the surface rather than raised above it, creating a tactile quality that is particularly noticeable on the 10 oz size. Both sides also featured a guilloche background pattern borrowed from banknote security design, with frosted elements layered on top to create visual contrast.

For the 2019 issue, Etienne Millner took over the reverse design, depicting St George in a more dynamic combat scene with the dragon. This design continued through 2020 and the final 2021 issue, with the emphasis on courage and bravery as a thematic thread. The obverse throughout all four years carried Jody Clark's fifth-generation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Royal Mint stopped issuing Valiant coins after 2021 with no formal discontinuation announcement. A gap of two years followed before the launch of the "St George and the Dragon" series in 2024 with an entirely new design by Jody Clark, struck in .999 silver rather than the Valiant's .9999. The 2026 release (third in the successor series) was designed by Sandra Deiana with a King Charles III obverse by Martin Jennings. The purity downgrade from .9999 to .999 means the Valiant remains the only four-nines Royal Mint silver bullion coin in the St George lineage.

Valiant vs Britannia, Maple Leaf, and Successor Series

For UK buyers, the comparison between the Valiant and the Silver Britannia is the most relevant. Both are UK legal tender, both are CGT-exempt and VAT-free, and both are available from the same dealers. The Britannia is the Royal Mint's flagship silver coin with wider international dealer recognition, tighter premiums, and the four-feature anti-counterfeiting suite that the Valiant lacks. The Valiant counters with .9999 purity (vs the Britannia's .999), the distinctive incuse design, and its discontinued status, which may give surviving stock a scarcity premium over time.

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf matches the Valiant at .9999 purity, making these two of only a handful of sovereign mint silver coins at that standard. The Maple Leaf has the advantage of continuous annual production, massive global liquidity, MicroEngraved security features, and IRA eligibility. The Valiant has CGT exemption in the UK, which the Maple Leaf does not. For UK buyers who prioritise tax efficiency, the Valiant (or Britannia) wins; for non-UK buyers, the Maple Leaf's deeper market and security features make a stronger case.

Against the successor "St George and the Dragon" series (2024 onward), the Valiant's advantage is the .9999 purity that the successor dropped. The new series has micro-text security features the Valiant lacks and will benefit from ongoing annual production, building the kind of liquidity that a four-year discontinued series cannot match. Buyers specifically seeking the highest-purity Royal Mint silver with CGT exemption will find the Valiant is the only option.

The Tudor Beasts series, also from the Royal Mint, matches the Valiant's .9999 silver purity (a standard shared across the Royal Mint's "beasts" franchise but not the Britannia). Tudor Beasts coins are also CGT-exempt. The choice between them comes down to design preference and collecting interest: Tudor Beasts offer a ten-coin collectible series with heraldic Tudor imagery, while the Valiant's St George theme connects to a longer numismatic tradition.