Released just weeks ago, the Black Bull of Clarence gold coin is now available to buy. It’s the latest in a range of Royal Mint bullion coins called ‘The Queen’s Beasts’. The Black Bull is the fifth coin to be released in the series, which seeks to commemorate all 10 of the statues present at the Queen’s coronation.
Looking to start building your Queen’s Beast gold coin collection? Here’s everything you need to know.
The Queen’s Beasts
The original 10 Queen’s Beasts statues were commissioned especially for the Queen’s coronation in 1953, and constituted an impressive work of sculpting achievement. Each standing at around six feet high, they commemorated important heraldic symbols from Queen Elizabeth’s ancestry. Particularly well known examples of these symbols include the Unicorn of Scotland and the Red Dragon of Wales.
The statues, while still in existence, have since been donated to the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec. So, chances are you won’t be catching sight of the originals any time soon. But luckily, the Royal Mint’s bullion coin series commemorates the historic symbols as silver and gold coins.
The Black Bull of Clarence
The Black Bull of Clarence is one of the less well known symbols of the British monarchy. And indeed, compared to something as well-known as the English Lion, it fits in a somewhat more niche place in English history.
The Black Bull was first chosen as a royal symbol of King Edward VI, after his ascension to the English throne in 1461. He was the first Yorkist monarch, and one of the early figures of the infamous Wars of the Roses. It isn’t entirely known why the black bull was chosen as the heraldic symbol of Edward IV, or why it so quickly fell out of use in the years afterwards.
But one thing’s for sure – it was important and memorable enough as a symbol of this tumultuous period of British history to be commemorated almost 500 years later at the coronation of Edward’s descendant, Queen Elizabeth II.
The whole Royal Mint bullion coin series
Of course, no commemorative gold coin from the Royal Mint would be complete without… well another nine to go with it! Whether you’re a gold coin collector looking to get the full series, or a gold investor looking to get the maximum collector’s premium on the eventual sale of your gold – everyone loves having a completed series.
The Black Bull of Clarence marks the fifth gold coin in The Queen’s Beast series, of which the final is set to be released in November 2020. Each gold coin has a face value of £100 – but make sure you don’t actually sell it for that much, since it’s almost a tenth of the current trading value of its equivalent gold content.
The standard gold coin contains one troy ounce of 24 karat gold, a figure which remains consistent throughout the different editions in the series. The Royal Mint also mints ¼ ounce gold coins, as well as 10 ounce and 2 ounce silver coins for each variant of the Queen’s Beast. More recently, a one ounce platinum coin has also been released for later editions.
Here’s a quick look at the other coins in the series so far:
The Lion of England
That ever famous mascot of England was the first to kick off the series back in March 2016. Closely associated with English bravery, it was first seen on a shield that was given to Geoffrey Plantagenet upon Henri I’s marriage to his daughter.
The Griffin of Edward III
The Griffin of Edward III was (no surprise here), the emblem of Edward III, who ruled the country for a notable period of time between 1327 and 1377. It is considered a symbol of courage, strength and vigilance.
The Red Dragon of Wales
In old Welsh folklore, the red dragon was considered to have been the emblem of King Arthur himself. Whether that’s true or not is anyone’s guess – but it’s certainly earned itself pride of place as the Welsh national symbol since then.
The Unicorn of Scotland
The national emblem of Scotland, the unicorn, is slightly lesser known than its counterparts the English lion and the Welsh dragon. Despite that, it’s been a hallmark of Scotland royal history since its first use by William I in the 1100s.
Buy gold coins from the Gold Bullion Company
As well as the brand new Black Bull of Clarence, we also have three other Royal Mint gold bullion gold coins from the Queen’s Beast series in our current collection, the Unicorn and the Dragon in gold, and the Unicorn once again in silver. These coins are immensely popular offerings from the Royal Mint – so make sure you keep a careful eye on our full selection of British gold coins for updates on when the latest coins in the series are released.
