westminstrel

I have to admit I absolutely love the panther’s face. David Lawrence has captured it so well. I’ve seen a panther snarling in real life, and this expression just captures the hissing ferocity that sends chills down one’s spine.

The frosted version does look quite nice. Can someone explain the beast’s posture to me though? I can’t make out the anatomy and it’s driving me mildly insane. What is that “gap” to the left of the shield and below the forepaw? You can see the field of the coin in that gap. And what are those two coiled-spotted “loops” at the base, from the back paw to the bottom of the shield.

The leaked design is posted in the other topic specifically about this series. 😉

So the design that leaked is the actual design then?

Yeah I hate when they do too many variations - there’s also a 1 Oz silver this time. So that’s yet another denomination to dilute the offering. By the way I’ve PMed you. 🙂

All done my friends. I didn’t intend to traumatise y’all. ☺️

Which one do you intend getting? The one with the Gothic portrait or the quartered shield?

That’ll be close to £10,000 right there!

Yes @SilverMike. The Gazette entries usually club the reverse descriptions when the coins are of the same series. They’ve done this for the new Tudor Beasts Gazette entry too - where the reverse description states “Seymour Panther” or “Lion of England”. I can’t see the RM selling these as individual coins, because it would be so weird for people to end up with half a set of a denomination. In which case these 2 coin sets are going to cost a crazy amount. 😵‍💫 The anticipation and anxiety of release day is already getting to me. 😅

I was scouring the Gazette and came upon these details. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3892788 Gold Proof - 10 kg - 5 kg - 1 kg - 5 oz - 2 oz - 10 oz piedfort (this is a new variation!) Silver Proof - 2 kg - 1 kg - 5 oz - 2 oz - 10 oz piedfort (this is a new variation!) Design For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription “· ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · 5 POUNDS ·” and the date of the year, and for the reverse either: (a) a portrait of Queen Victoria accompanied by the inscription “VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D ·”; or (b) a depiction of the crowned shields of England, Scotland and Ireland accompanied by the inscription “TUEATUR UNITA DEUS ANNO DOM” accompanied by the date of the year in Roman numerals. The coin shall have a grained edge.

This is confusing to me. Seems a bit… off? The obverse has “our effigy on horseback”?

I hope the “2022” doesn’t look like that on the 2022 Sovereign. Something about the “2002” on that year’s Sovereign also looked modern and less classic.

Agreed 100%. I think the beast is a bit too big, or maybe it’s head seems too big, but certainly its pose seems a bit “off”. As I said above I think the style of this new series will take some getting used to. I feel like David Lawrence might even be deliberately trying to differentiate it from Jody Clark’s designs.

Wow thanks… this is a great find. 😀 The new style will get some taking used to, for sure, but certainly this could be a great new series.

That will be a closely guarded secret by the RM until release day.

Would anyone happen to have any of the Royal Mint’s informational booklets / brochures / bulletins about the Queen’s Beasts coins? Please PM me if you do - I really would appreciate it.

I may be wrong but I believe the Royal Dragon from the Tudor Beasts is the same as the Red Dragon of Wales (the Welsh Dragon) from the Queen’s Beasts. So it is 6 overlapping beasts. The different ones are the 3 Seymour Beasts and the Tudor Dragon.

Care to share what you would have done different? Personally, I would’ve liked to have collected the entire set of the Brilliant Uncirculated coins. You and me both. I wish I had a partner who was into this stuff too - share the cost and share the pleasure. 😆

I agree. I wonder who the designer will be. The launch event should be interesting to watch. What will they reveal? 😀

For those who need an education in these beasts (like myself!) here’s something from Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Court_Palace#King.27s_Beasts There are ten statues of heraldic animals, called the King's Beasts, that stand on the bridge over the moat leading to the great gatehouse. Unlike the Queen's Beasts in Kew Gardens, these statues represent the ancestry of King Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour. The animals are: 1. the Lion of England 2. the Seymour Lion 3. the Royal Dragon 4. the Black Bull of Clarence 5. the Yale of Beaufort 6. the White Lion of Mortimer 7. the White Greyhound of Richmond 8. the Tudor Dragon 9. the Seymour Panther 10. the Seymour Unicorn. Quite of a few of the beasts are the same as the Queen’s Beasts. I suppose they will have different depictions for the new series. I’m also curious who the designer will be.

The Royal Mint has posted a YouTube link of a launch event for the Royal Tudor Beasts - seemingly their next series - on October 7.

Oooh near and yet far. 😅

@Britannia47- I believe 2017 was also the 200th anniversary of the Half Sovereign with its lovely shield design. What a wasted opportunity it was.

I feel bad for how Czar Nicholas and his family were murdered. 😕 Getting back to our topic… I initially wondered (hoped!) that Iike the “old days” they might surprise us with different designs for the Sovereign, Half, Double, and Five Pound. Wouldn’t that be a glorious set to have!

Heheh no they weren’t; but the poor guys had those situations thrust upon them and led with relative sanity. Unlike some other prior monarchs, who were rather loopy themselves... 😆