Five Pounds 2024 Royal Tudor Beasts - The Seymour Unicorn, 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 fifth 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, and features The Seymour Unicorn.

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.

Before being chosen by Henry VIII to flank the Moat Bridge of Hampton Court Palace, the unicorn was rarely used as a royal heraldic beast. The Tudor monarch’s decision to include it may lie in its symbolism, as the unicorn represents purity and fertility, and the king desperately needed the "gods of fertility" to bless his third wife with a son who could perpetuate the dynasty. The unicorn is a mythical creature that appears in the Bible and was recognised by the ancient Greeks. It has an interesting biological composition, possessing the body of a horse with more often than not the cloven hooves and beard of a goat, a lion’s tail, and a slender, spiral horn on its forehead.

Differentiating it from the Unicorn of Scotland, the Seymour Unicorn wears a royal coronet on its head and a wreath of flowers around its neck.

Reimagined for The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection by artist David Lawrence, the unicorn bears the full un-maritaled arms of the Queen on its shield (i.e. before her marriage; after that, her Coat of Arms was expanded with elements of her husband's Coat of Arms).