Five Pounds 2023 Royal Tudor Beasts - The Bull of Clarence, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

At the time of decimalisation in 1971, the United Kingdom Crown coin (equal to 5 shillings) was redenominated as a 25p coin and pieces struck prior to 1990 - all the way back to 1818 - continue to be legal tender for that amount. The old denomination had been a regular circulating coin in the 19th century, but in the 20th century it became more of a commemorative denomination.

The Royal Mint continued issuing commemorative coins in the same format - using the traditional coin dimensions, but in copper-nickel. These were initially also denominated as 25 pence but the "Crown" was changed in 1990 to a commemorative £5 (five pound) coin, having the same dimensions and weight but with a face value twenty times as great.

The denomination is used to mark special occasions, usually royal in theme, rather than for use in general circulation. Although not circulating, these coins are legal tender.

This coin type is the fourth out of ten designs from the Royal Tudor Beasts Collection - coins depicting heraldic animals representing the Medieval Tudor dynasty which ruled England between 1485 and 1603.

The Moat Bridge, the main entrance to Hampton Court Palace built by King Henry VIII, is adorned by ten stone guardians. Each fearsome Royal Beast holds historic meaning and the ten figures evenly represent Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. These regal protectors provided the inspiration for The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection from The Royal Mint.

The first Duke of Clarence, Lionel of Antwerp, also the son of King Edward III, used a black bull as a badge. The inclusion of his symbol as one of the King’s Beasts demonstrates the Yorkist lineage of King Henry VIII. The origins of the bull may stretch back even further, to the Clare family, as Lionel married Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Ulster and granddaughter of Elizabeth de Clare. The bull may also reflect Henry VIII’s Welsh heritage as Lionel and Elizabeth’s son married Catrin Glyndŵr, the daughter of legendary Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr, the last native Welshman to hold the title of Prince of Wales. The king’s pride in his Welsh roots is clear in his choice of the Welsh dragon as one of the supporters of his Coat of Arms.

Reimagined for The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection by artist David Lawrence, the bull bears the Tudor Rose on its shield. Henry VIII’s father, Henry VII, united the two rival royal houses of Lancaster and York. The Tudor Rose visually represented his marriage to Elizabeth of York, combining the red rose of Lancaster with the white rose of York in one emblem. Emblazoned across the land, the Tudor Rose symbolised the end of the ‘Wars of the Roses’ and the beginning of a powerful new dynasty.