The Queens Beasts

[d13avo]

Please could someone explain these coins to me. I am new to gold coin investing/collecting and I have heard that these particular coins at the moment are doing well. I would be interested in the 1/4 oz gold version at 7 grams but am struggling to find info on them.

What I have found so far but please could someone confirm this is correct, that these coins only started in 2016 with the lion of England and their are ten beasts. Does this mean the Royal Mint release ten different beast coins every year? So is there a 2017 lion, unicorn, etc and then 2018 lion, unicorn etc

Apologies if this has been answered but I cannot find the answer. I'm interested in these coins but want the correct facts, thank you.

[Groundup]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen's_Beasts_(coin) try here for some basic info

[d13avo]

1 minute ago, Groundup said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen's_Beasts_(coin) try here for so info

Hi, yes I read this and thought I understood but then on Atkinsons saw that they had a 2018 unicorn coin so then got confused so thought I'd ask on here.

[kimchi]

One at a time (after the first few confusingly in a different order for gold, silver, proof - both metals - and/or bullion versions), but there should only be one of each (e.g. the 1/4 Oz bullion gold Lion of 2016 they minted into 2017, but once it stopped it stopped). So there is no '2018/9' version on that bullion.

[Groundup]

Yes on the wiki site it does confirm that the 2018.... 1/4 Oz gold was indeed released in 2018.

[d13avo]

12 minutes ago, kimchi said:

One at a time (after the first few confusingly in a different order for gold, silver, proof - both metals - and/or bullion versions), but there should only be one of each (e.g. the 1/4 Oz bullion gold Lion of 2016 they minted into 2017, but once it stopped it stopped). So there is no '2018/9' version on that bullion.

Thank you kimchi, so if I understand this correct that once they've produced ten proof beasts, ten bullion beasts, silver beasts etc that's it there's no more?

[kimchi]

1 minute ago, d13avo said:

Thank you kimchi, so if I understand this correct that once they've produced ten proof beasts, ten bullion beasts, silver beasts etc that's it there's no more?

There shouldn't be - it's not a yearly issue, they are supposed to be one offs. However I believe they have a year after they start minting to carry on (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) so for example you may have a Lion with 2016 on it that was actually minted in 2017 (though you would likely never tell them apart and for purposes of collection, grading etc it makes no difference).

Basically it's a 'one shot' deal (albeit with a wide window) on each coin, the annoying thing is they are bringing them out in different orders on the different 'sets'.

If you can afford it the 1/4 Oz gold and 1/4 Oz Proof gold are good bets (so far!!!) if you get them at decent quality (it's harder with the bullion) when they release and premiums are lowest.

Hope that helps

[d13avo]

3 minutes ago, kimchi said:

If you can afford it the 1/4 Oz gold and 1/4 Oz Proof gold are good bets (so far!!!) if you get them at decent quality (it's harder with the bullion) when they release and premiums are lowest.

Hope that helps

Thanks again kimchi. Where would be the best place to try and source these coins which have already been released? As for the newly released ones would you get these from the Royal Mint? Would you also concentrate on proof or bullion? Sorry for all the questions.

[FoolzGold]

Yes, it's a limited series, with the 1oz gold bullion and 2oz silver bullion versions being the main ones and other versions (1/4oz gold, 10oz silver, platinum 1oz, and various proof versions) being released in parallel or with delays relative to the main series.

The coins are being released at roughly 6 month intervals and are minted for a year from the release date. Once each coin is out of production no more will be minted.

I don't really follow proof versions but it seems that the 1oz gold and 2oz silver bullion coins are popular and as they go out of production the prices (at least those asked by dealers) have climbed quite impressively. You can compare this to the UK lunar series where the out of production early coins have really gained very little in premiums being asked by dealers.

[Groundup]

Just to add a bit more confusion. A lot  of coins are released around October/November.. so 2019 coins are released in October/November 2018.. so if you're interested in say a proof of limited mintage. You know when to start saving...lol this applies to other coins like Britannia.. kugerrands..ect..

[d13avo]

14 minutes ago, Groundup said:

Just to add a bit more confusion. A lot  of coins are released around October/November.. so 2019 coins are released in October/November 2018.. so if you're interested in say a proof of limited mintage. You know when to start saving...lol this applies to other coins like Britannia.. kugerrands..ect..

Thank you

[kimchi]

18 minutes ago, d13avo said:

Thanks again kimchi. Where would be the best place to try and source these coins which have already been released? As for the newly released ones would you get these from the Royal Mint? Would you also concentrate on proof or bullion? Sorry for all the questions.

Recently @RegalStacker put a vid on his Youtube channel where he believed the 2 Oz silvers (Griffins?) were about to sell out at a decent (ish) price at the Royal Mint bullion website (end of production/stock), but at the same time were going for way more elsewhere. I asked a few folk about it on here but got no feedback so I don't know how that went (I don't like Royal Mint silver myself because of milkspots, and I am also too lazy to be a 'wheeler dealer' type, but I think the idea was that whatever the condition of the coins even dealers would pay you more for them than you could buy them for).

Check out his vids!

Proof or bullion depends on your budget, plus of course we are mid-way stage through a series and we don't know how it will go (hugely popular so far mind!). Gold bullion I'm wary of due to the Mint's Quality Control problems. The Proofs should all be almost flawless in theory (enough to get a PF70 grade) but they do cock up (a bit too often). At least if you order from them though soon after release you can always return for a replacement (I'm not sure that's the case with bullion?).

Hope that helps a bit

 

 

[Lr103]

50 minutes ago, kimchi said:

Recently @RegalStacker put a vid on his Youtube channel where he believed the 2 Oz silvers (Griffins?) were about to sell out at a decent (ish) price at the Royal Mint bullion website (end of production/stock), but at the same time were going for way more elsewhere. I asked a few folk about it on here but got no feedback so I don't know how that went (I don't like Royal Mint silver myself because of milkspots, and I am also too lazy to be a 'wheeler dealer' type, but I think the idea was that whatever the condition of the coins even dealers would pay you more for them than you could buy them for).

Check out his vids!

Proof or bullion depends on your budget, plus of course we are mid-way stage through a series and we don't know how it will go (hugely popular so far mind!). Gold bullion I'm wary of due to the Mint's Quality Control problems. The Proofs should all be almost flawless in theory (enough to get a PF70 grade) but they do cock up (a bit too often). At least if you order from them though soon after release you can always return for a replacement (I'm not sure that's the case with bullion?).

Hope that helps a bit

 

 

This is definitely true, as I recently decided to increase my holdings of 2oz silver beasts.  Royal Mint Bullion still has some Griffins left in stock, and as of now they are selling for $465.77 per tube of 10 (they seem to only be selling tubes at this point), so $46.58 per coin.  My usual go to vender is APMEX where they are currently asking $187 per 2 oz coin!  I was able to buy them from Royal Mint Bullion without any problem.

It made me consider buying more to sell to APMEX, but economists would tell me I cannot arbitrage price  ?

 

[kimchi]

7 minutes ago, Lr103 said:

This is definitely true, as I recently decided to increase my holdings of 2oz silver beasts.  Royal Mint Bullion still has some Griffins left in stock, and as of now they are selling for $465.77 per tube of 10 (they seem to only be selling tubes at this point), so $46.58 per coin.  My usual go to vender is APMEX where they are currently asking $187 per 2 oz coin!  I was able to buy them from Royal Mint Bullion without any problem.

It made me consider buying more to sell to APMEX, but economists would tell me I cannot arbitrage price on a commodity such as silver ?

 

I did tell people on here, but did they listen to me? Nope!

To be fair though I wouldn't listen to me either

All I ever learnt from Economics is - never trust an 'Economist'!

[Tingles]

On 03/08/2018 at 19:42, kimchi said:

I did tell people on here, but did they listen to me? Nope!

To be fair though I wouldn't listen to me either

All I ever learnt from Economics is - never trust an 'Economist'!

Yep, ask two economists - get three different answers!!

All wrong!

[kimchi]

4 minutes ago, Tingles said:

Yep, ask a politician the same thing twice - get three different answers!!

All wrong!

Fixed that one for you

[Tingles]

9 minutes ago, kimchi said:

Fixed that one for you

Never known them to answer a question!!!!!!!!!!

[RogerBelmar]

I’ll be focusing on buying the 1/4 ounce Queen’s Beasts which are a magnificent series of coins. Atkinsons stocks two of them - the Unicorn of Scotland and the Bull of Clarence. BullionByPost stocks the rest - the Lion of England, the Dragon of Wales and the Griffin of Edward. I bought a bespoke sovereign case from eBay which can hold twenty full sovereigns in their lighthouse capsules but which can double as a 1/4 ounce gold coin holder for the Queen’s Beasts. The Falcon of the Plantagenets comes out next month. 

 

The sheer diversity of 1/4 ounce gold coins to choose from in the 21st century is staggering when you think about it. You have everything from the Queen’s Beasts, Maples, Britannias, Eagles, Libertads, Kangaroos, Pandas, Philharmonics, Krugerrands and sovereigns. I just possess a 2018 full sovereign and 1/4 ounce Krugerrand at the moment but plan to fill my sovereign case with a whole variety of the world’s most popular gold coins. No two gold coins will be the same. My silver stack also shares the same diversity, especially with the new addition of the silver Krugerrand. I’ll be grateful if any of you silver stackers out there have an empty silver Krugerrand tube which I can buy.

[BleyerBullion]

On 27/08/2018 at 21:36, RogerBelmar said:

My silver stack also shares the same diversity, especially with the new addition of the silver Krugerrand. I’ll be grateful if any of you silver stackers out there have an empty silver Krugerrand tube which I can buy.

We have a few available   https://www.bleyerbullion.co.uk/silver-krugerrand-coin-tube-2018-empty

[fehk2001]

On 27/08/2018 at 21:36, RogerBelmar said:

have

They are similar size as Britannia so you only need to get those 

forum has some free ones ( + postage ) 

i have some of u need them also ( only need to pay postage , 3 pound small parcel )

[RogerBelmar]

10 hours ago, fehk2001 said:

They are similar size as Britannia so you only need to get those 

forum has some free ones ( + postage ) 

i have some of u need them also ( only need to pay postage , 3 pound small parcel )

I know the new silver Krugerrands can be stacked in Britannia tubes but I already possess an empty Britannia tube which is reserved for stacking Britannias only. If I started stacking South African Krugerrands in British Britannia tubes alongside my Britannias then you can imagine how confusing my collection will become. 

I’m stacking over ten of the world’s most popular 1oz silver coins in their official mint tubes. I know it sounds crazy but I went to great effort to purchase even an empty Mexican Libertad tube from the States. I paid more in shipping costs than for the actual tube itself. I also ordered an empty air-tite tube from the States for my silver Pandas when I wasn’t happy how the Panda trays took up too much space.

I’ve done something some silver stackers would regard as sacrilegious which is to stack semi-numismatic Kookaburras and Koalas in Perth Mint tubes. Those encapsulated coins can only be bought in rolls unlike unencapsulated Kangaroos which can be bought in the tubes. I managed to stack these dissimilar Australian coins in three Perth Mint tubes because they are the same diameter and thickness. I’ve labelled the Perth Mint tubes so as to not to get confused between the three.

I’ve also got a fourth Perth Mint tube for Perth Mint’s semi-numismatic silver Star Trek coin which can only be bought encapsulated. I don’t know, however, whether I’ll be able to fit twenty-five unencapsulated Star Trek coins in a Perth Mint tube without closing the lid because they are slightly thicker than the three other Australian coins. I wouldn’t advise any silver stackers to attempt the experiment with their Marvel coins from Perth Mint because these are limited edition coins (50,000) with high premiums.

I’ll be stacking 1oz silver Eagles, Maples, Libertads, Pandas, Britannias, Armenian Noah’s Arks, Philharmonics, Kangaroos and Krugerrands. My semi-numismatic coins are the popular Kookaburras and Koalas along with the optional Star Trek coin. I know how some silver stackers strongly dissuade others from purchasing novelty coins. Most bullion dealers disagree. I know one extremely conservative bullion dealer whose primary speciality is investment bullion but always includes silver Marvel and Superman coins along with standard Eagles, Britannias and Philharmonics.

Thanks for your kind offer of empty Britannia tubes but I need to stick to stacking the coins in their respective mint tubes. I’ll be alternating between the various tubes by stacking five coins at a time so you can imagine how confusing it would be if I were to accidentally stack Krugerrands in a Britannia tube with Britannias rather than in a Britannia tube with Krugerrands. There is a definite payoff to all this. Amazingly, I’ve managed to fit all these official mint tubes upright  in a bag with the comparative dimensions of a toiletry bag. The Armenian Noah’s Ark tube sits neatly on top of the Eagle tube. That bag of silver will in turn fit into a small safe I plan to buy from Atkinsons at the end of the year.

 

 

 

[kimchi]

19 minutes ago, RogerBelmar said:

I know the new silver Krugerrands can be stacked in Britannia tubes but I already possess an empty Britannia tube which is reserved for stacking Britannias only. If I started stacking South African Krugerrands in British Britannia tubes alongside my Britannias then you can imagine how confusing my collection will become.

<snip>

Thanks for your kind offer of empty Britannia tubes but I need to stick to stacking the coins in their respective mint tubes. I’ll be alternating between the various tubes by stacking five coins at a time so you can imagine how confusing it would be if I were to accidentally stack Krugerrands in a Britannia tube with Britannias rather than in a Britannia tube with Krugerrands.

<snip>

 

It's so difficult, if only there was an answer to this

19 minutes ago, RogerBelmar said:

I’ve done something some silver stackers would regard as sacrilegious which is to stack semi-numismatic Kookaburras and Koalas in Perth Mint tubes. Those encapsulated coins can only be bought in rolls unlike unencapsulated Kangaroos which can be bought in the tubes. I managed to stack these dissimilar Australian coins in three Perth Mint tubes because they are the same diameter and thickness. I’ve labelled the Perth Mint tubes so as to not to get confused between the three.

Oh there is!

[RogerBelmar]

3 hours ago, kimchi said:

It's so difficult, if only there was an answer to this

Oh there is!

Well spotted! You raise a good point. I have no real worries storing my silver Kangaroos, Kookaburras and Koalas in labelled Perth Mint tubes because they are all Perth Mint coins. The same would be true if I were to successfully stack my Perth Mint Star Trek coins in a labelled Perth Mint tube. I have no choice in the matter because there are no specially designed Kookaburra, Koala and Star Trek tubes available. Interestingly, the Royal Canadian Mint did create a Superman tube for storing their silver Superman coins which could be distinguished from their Maple tubes.

The major difference with the silver Krugerrands, of course, is that I do have the choice to stack them in their official mint tube when an empty one becomes available. I did figure out early on that I could stack the new silver Krugerrands in a second Britannia tube and label the two tubes like I did with the three Perth Mint tubes. But that would have always been a temporary solution before a silver Krugerrand tube became available unlike the labelled Perth Mint tubes which were a permanent storage solution in the absence of specially designed tubes.

[ZatStackz]

18 hours ago, RogerBelmar said:

I’ve done something some silver stackers would regard as sacrilegious which is to stack semi-numismatic Kookaburras and Koalas in Perth Mint tubes. Those encapsulated coins can only be bought in rolls unlike unencapsulated Kangaroos which can be bought in the tubes. I managed to stack these dissimilar Australian coins in three Perth Mint tubes because they are the same diameter and thickness. I’ve labelled the Perth Mint tubes so as to not to get confused between the three.

So you are taking them out of the capsules and putting them in a tube?  That's ballsy!  Remind me never to buy kooks from you. Lol.  Why not use the air-tite tubes for the encapsulated kooks like you are doing with the pandas?

[ZatStackz]

On 03/08/2018 at 11:42, kimchi said:

On 03/08/2018 at 11:32, Lr103 said:

This is definitely true, as I recently decided to increase my holdings of 2oz silver beasts.  Royal Mint Bullion still has some Griffins left in stock, and as of now they are selling for $465.77 per tube of 10 (they seem to only be selling tubes at this point), so $46.58 per coin.  My usual go to vender is APMEX where they are currently asking $187 per 2 oz coin!  I was able to buy them from Royal Mint Bullion without any problem.

It made me consider buying more to sell to APMEX, but economists would tell me I cannot arbitrage price on a commodity such as silver ?

 

I did tell people on here, but did they listen to me? Nope!

To be fair though I wouldn't listen to me either

All I ever learnt from Economics is - never trust an 'Economist'!

When I first saw these from the royal mint they were going for $385 a tube, yet you couldn't get them for under $60 from dealers in the states, so I applied for a royal mint account.  After applying they requested proof of my address, so I had to send a utility bill.  A few weeks go buy and I get a letter from the mint saying the utility bill wasn't enough and they had to have it notarized and needed other form of id.  That put me off, so I said to myself "**** these bloody blokes" (in my best english accent) and asked them to cancel my application and delete all my personal info.  I found their customer service to be lacking and the crazy requirements just to buy from them are really stupid.  They also make you deposit money into a royal mint account before you can make a purchase, and there are fees associated with getting any remaining funds back. 

My plan was to get a few tubes of griffins to hold for a while and I was a bit upset when the prices continued to rise after I missed out on the opportunity to buy, but it wasnt worth jumping thorugh crazy hoops.  In the long run its probably good I didn't get an account.  Im still not sure how much duty Duty fees on silver entering the US are, and after those and shipping costs it might not have been worth it.    Oh well.  they lost a potential long term customer, but Im sure they dont care because Im small potatoes to them.