2 oz Queen's Beasts Silver Coin

The 2 oz Queen's Beasts Silver Coin

The Queen's Beasts series was issued by The Royal Mint from 2016 to 2021, featuring ten heraldic beasts that stood as six-foot plaster statues at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The 2 oz silver coin was the flagship bullion format of the series and a genuine first: it was the first ever two-ounce silver bullion coin issued by the United Kingdom.

Each of the ten designs depicts a stylised heraldic beast holding a shield bearing royal arms or a dynastic badge, tracing the Queen's ancestry through centuries of British heraldic tradition. Jody Clark, the Royal Mint engraver responsible for the fifth definitive coinage portrait of Elizabeth II, designed all ten reverses. An eleventh Completer Coin featuring all ten beasts on a single design closed the series in April 2021.

The coins are struck in 9999 fine silver, a purity that exceeds the 1 oz Silver Britannia's 999 standard. Combined with UK legal tender status and CGT exemption, the 2 oz Queen's Beasts offered a rare package: high-purity silver with genuine tax advantages for UK buyers.

With the series now complete and bullion mintages stopped, supply is fixed to whatever was produced during each beast's release year. This closed-series dynamic has driven secondary market premiums higher, particularly for the earlier releases. The Lion of England (2016), as the inaugural coin, commands the strongest collector interest.

Queen's Beasts Silver Denominations

The Ten Beasts

All ten designs carry the Jody Clark portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. From 2018, bullion versions incorporated guilloche patterned backgrounds as a counterfeiting deterrent.

Queen's Beasts Tax Advantages for UK Buyers

The Queen's Beasts coins are UK legal tender with face values of GBP 5 (2 oz silver) and GBP 10 (10 oz silver). This legal tender status provides a significant tax benefit that most silver coins from foreign mints cannot match.

United Kingdom

All Queen's Beasts coins, in gold, silver, and platinum, are exempt from Capital Gains Tax for UK residents. This is the same exemption that applies to Silver Britannias and Sovereigns. Silver coins still attract 20% VAT on purchase, but any profit on sale is entirely tax-free. For silver buyers planning to hold for the long term, this CGT exemption can offset the initial VAT cost if the gain is large enough. The 2 oz format means a higher absolute VAT payment per coin compared to 1 oz alternatives, but the per-ounce cost is comparable.

United States

The Queen's Beasts is not considered IRA-eligible in the United States. Only US Mint products and certain specifically approved foreign coins qualify for precious metals IRAs. Capital gains from Queen's Beasts sales are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28% federal. Sales tax varies by state, with approximately 35 states exempting bullion purchases.

Canada and Australia

No special tax advantages apply. Canadian GST/HST and Australian GST apply to silver coin purchases at standard rates. Capital gains are subject to local rules (50% inclusion rate in Canada, 50% CGT discount for 12-month holdings in Australia).

European Union

Silver Queen's Beasts are subject to VAT at the local standard rate across EU member states. Gold versions are VAT-exempt under the EU Investment Gold Directive. On the secondary market, some EU countries (Germany, Netherlands) may apply margin scheme taxation, reducing the effective VAT on pre-owned coins.

Singapore and Hong Kong

Singapore exempts Investment Precious Metals (silver at 999 purity or finer) from GST. The Queen's Beasts at 9999 purity comfortably qualifies. Hong Kong has no sales tax, import duty, or capital gains tax.

From Coronation Statues to Bullion Coins

The ten beasts that give this series its name were originally carved as six-foot plaster statues for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Sculptor James Woodford RA created the statues, which lined the entrance to Westminster Abbey. Each beast represented a strand of the new Queen's ancestry, holding a shield bearing the arms or badge of a royal house or dynasty.

After the coronation, the statues were dispersed to several locations. Replicas in Portland stone now stand at Kew Gardens in London. Others made their way to the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, a fitting destination given the Commonwealth connection. The original plaster versions, never intended for permanent display, were too fragile for outdoor exposure.

The Royal Mint announced the coin series in 2015, with the first release, the Lion of England, reaching the market in March 2016. The Lion was exclusively distributed in North America by Wholesale Direct Metals. Jody Clark, already well known for designing the Queen's fifth coinage portrait, was chosen to design all ten beast reverses. His approach depicted each beast in a stylised heraldic manner, maintaining the formal character of the originals while adapting the designs for the coin format.

Two designs were released per year from 2017 onwards, maintaining a steady pace through the series. The guilloche patterned background, a braided-ribbon geometric pattern that adds visual depth, was introduced from 2018 as an anti-counterfeiting measure. Cupro-nickel base metal versions were also produced for the collector market at a GBP 5 face value, separate from the bullion programme.

The Completer Coin arrived in April 2021, placing all ten beasts on a single reverse design. A 10 kg gold proof variant of the Completer with a face value of GBP 10,000 represented the ultimate expression of the series. With the Completer, the Queen's Beasts programme officially closed, and the Royal Mint shifted its heraldic focus to the successor Tudor Beasts series beginning in 2022.

Queen's Beasts vs Tudor Beasts, Britannia, and Perth Lunar

The 2 oz Queen's Beasts competes directly with three other silver series: its own successor, the 2 oz Tudor Beasts, the perennially popular 1 oz Silver Britannia, and the 2 oz Perth Lunar.

The Tudor Beasts is the most direct comparison. Both are Royal Mint series with 9999 silver purity, both carry CGT exemption in the UK, and both use guilloche background patterning. The Tudor Beasts draws its heraldry from the Hampton Court Palace statues of Henry VIII's era, with designs by David Lawrence rather than Jody Clark. The key difference is availability: the Tudor Beasts is still in production (2022-2026), while Queen's Beasts supply is fixed. Buyers who missed the Queen's Beasts or want current-year coins will find the Tudor Beasts fills the same niche.

Against the Silver Britannia, the Queen's Beasts shares CGT exemption but differs in format and purity. The Britannia is a 1 oz coin at 999 purity; the Queen's Beasts is 2 oz at 9999. The Britannia benefits from the Royal Mint's four-feature security suite (surface animation, latent image, tincture lines, micro-text) introduced in 2021, which the Queen's Beasts never received. For buyers primarily concerned with security features, the Britannia has the edge. For those prioritising purity and the 2 oz format, the Queen's Beasts is the stronger choice.

The Perth Lunar at 2 oz offers a different proposition entirely. Its zodiac cycle provides a 12-year collectible framework, and it has strong recognition in Asian markets. Current Series III coins are also 9999 purity. The Perth Lunar lacks CGT exemption in the UK, making the Queen's Beasts more tax-efficient for British buyers. Outside the UK, the choice comes down to design preference: British heraldic beasts or Chinese zodiac animals.

One practical consideration: the Queen's Beasts is a completed series. Its ten designs plus the Completer form a finite set, which appeals to collectors who want a defined goal. The Tudor Beasts and Perth Lunar are both ongoing, requiring a longer commitment for a complete collection.