1 oz St George and the Dragon Gold Coin

A Modern Take on Britain's Oldest Coin Motif

The 1 oz Gold St George and the Dragon is a bullion series from The Royal Mint launched in 2024, exploring the legend of England's patron saint through annually changing designs. The motif has deeper numismatic roots than any other image on British coinage: St George first appeared on English coins in 1526, on the George Noble struck under Henry VIII. Benedetto Pistrucci created the definitive version in 1817 for the Gold Sovereign, an engraving widely considered one of the finest in numismatic history. This modern bullion series does not reuse Pistrucci's original; instead, it commissions a new artistic interpretation each year.

The coin contains 31.103 grams of .9999 fine gold with a face value of £100 as UK legal tender. That legal tender status provides UK buyers with the same double tax advantage as the 1oz Gold Britannia: VAT-free on purchase and CGT-exempt on disposal. The 2026 issue, the third year of the series, was designed by Sandra Deiana and coincides with the 500th anniversary of St George's first appearance on English coinage (1526-2026).

The annual-redesign model places this series alongside the 1oz Gold Tudor Beasts and 1oz Perth Lunar Gold Coin as coins where each year's release is a distinct design, creating a mild collectible dimension on top of the bullion value. The series sits alongside the Gold Sovereign (which retains Pistrucci's original 1817 design) and the separate "Great Engravers" collector programme, offering a different value proposition from both.

1 oz Gold St George and the Dragon Technical Details

Full Size Range

Security Features

The series incorporates micro-text borders, micro-detail background waves visible under magnification, and advanced minting technology for enhanced depth and clarity. The 2026 issue includes an inscription drawn from the original 1526 George Noble, reinforcing historical continuity and serving as a design-level authentication element. The combination of micro-text and micro-detail creates layers of complexity that are difficult to replicate through casting or stamping.

Annual Designers

The annual designer rotation means each year's coin has a distinct artistic voice. The obverse carries the Martin Jennings portrait of King Charles III throughout the series' run to date. Standard bullion packaging is a single coin capsule.

St George Tax Treatment by Country

As UK legal tender from The Royal Mint, the St George and the Dragon has the same tax position as the Britannia, Tudor Beasts, Queen's Beasts, and Royal Arms for UK buyers.

• United Kingdom: Gold coins are VAT-free as investment gold. CGT-exempt as UK legal tender. Silver versions are also CGT-exempt but carry 20% VAT on purchase. The £3,000 annual CGT allowance (2025/26) is relevant for non-exempt gold holdings; St George coins fall outside it entirely.
• United States: The .9999 purity exceeds the IRS minimum of 99.5% for gold in self-directed IRAs. Eligibility may depend on custodian acceptance of newer Royal Mint products. Capital gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• European Union: VAT-exempt as investment gold under the EU Investment Gold Directive. Germany offers complete capital gains exemption on bullion held for more than one year.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt at 99.5%+ purity. Capital gains are taxed at a 50% inclusion rate.
• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade gold. CGT applies with a 50% discount for holdings over 12 months.
• Singapore: GST-exempt as an Investment Precious Metal. No capital gains tax.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax, no import duty, no capital gains tax.

Five Centuries of St George on English Coinage

The link between St George and English coinage stretches back to 1526, when Henry VIII introduced the George Noble. This was the first English coin to depict the saint on horseback slaying the dragon. The motif remained in use across various English denominations, but its most famous expression came nearly three centuries later.

In 1817, Benedetto Pistrucci, an Italian gem engraver and medallist who had arrived in London the previous year, created a new St George and the Dragon design for the relaunched Gold Sovereign. Pistrucci's version was remarkable for its time: he depicted the scene with classical nude figures rather than medieval armour, provoking controversy but creating what is widely regarded as the single most iconic coin design in British numismatic history. The anatomical precision, the sense of movement, and the dramatic composition have ensured the design's survival on Sovereigns for over two hundred years.

This modern bullion series, launched in 2024, deliberately takes a different path. Rather than reproducing Pistrucci's original, each year commissions a new artist to reinterpret the legend. The 2024 debut by Jody Clark (who also designed the fifth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II) offered a contemporary depiction of St George on horseback. The 2026 issue by Sandra Deiana was timed to the 500th anniversary of the George Noble and described as "a dynamic portrayal" capturing "St George in the heat of battle." The 2026 coin carries an inscription drawn from the original George Noble, bridging half a millennium of numismatic tradition.

The 1 kg silver version (£500 face value, 100 mm diameter) targets high-value investors and creates a display piece that showcases the design at scale. The overall programme runs alongside the Gold Sovereign, which continues to carry Pistrucci's 1817 original, giving buyers a choice between historical continuity and modern reinterpretation of the same legendary subject.

St George vs Britannia, Tudor Beasts, and the Sovereign

The 1 oz Gold St George and the Dragon is one of several CGT-exempt options from The Royal Mint. Its differentiating factor is the annually changing artistic reinterpretation of a single legendary subject.

The 1oz Gold Britannia remains the benchmark. It has the widest dealer network, the deepest secondary market, and the most advanced security suite of any Royal Mint bullion coin. The Britannia has also adopted an annually changing reverse design from 2022, though in its case the subject (Britannia herself) remains the same and only the artistic treatment varies. The St George series offers a fundamentally different motif and draws on a longer numismatic lineage, but the Britannia's market depth is unmatched.

The 1oz Gold Tudor Beasts provides annual design rotation through ten heraldic beasts from Hampton Court Palace, with a defined end date of 2026. The St George series has no announced end date, positioning it as potentially ongoing. Both share the same purity (.9999), face value (£100), and CGT exemption. The choice between them is aesthetic and thematic.

The Gold Sovereign uses Pistrucci's 1817 St George design and is 22 carat (.9167 fine) at a weight of 7.32 grams (approximately 0.2354 troy ounces). The Sovereign has unmatched historical prestige and maximum divisibility. The modern St George coin offers higher purity (.9999 versus .9167), a standard 1 oz weight, and annually updated designs. Buyers who want St George on a full-ounce 24-carat coin choose this series; buyers who want the authentic Pistrucci engraving on a more divisible coin choose the Sovereign.

The 1oz Gold Royal Arms offers the same tax position with a fixed heraldic design that does not change year to year. For buyers who see gold coins as a straightforward savings vehicle and do not value annual design variation, the Royal Arms or Britannia are simpler options. The St George series is best suited for buyers who appreciate the artistic dimension and want each year's purchase to be visually distinct.