Silver Ounce 2024 Royal Tudor Beasts - The Seymour Unicorn, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

Like many other mints, the Royal Mint issues bullion coins in precious metals, having much higher intrinsic value than their face value. The one ounce (1 oz) silver coins are denominated as either two pounds (£2) or five pounds (£5), depending on the occasion.

Initially, these were only of the Britannia type, but in 2015 the Royal Mint started to use the format for coins with other types of reverse designs, celebrating various aspects of British heritage.

The coins are legal tender but are not intended for circulation. They are targeted at bullion investors or collectors who appreciate the special editions as pieces of art.

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).