2 Pounds - Elizabeth II Lion of England, Silver Proof

The Lion of England was the first release in the Royal Mint's Queen's Beasts series, a ten-coin programme drawing from the heraldic animals displayed at Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. The original plaster beasts stood outside Westminster Abbey that day, carved by sculptor James Woodford, and had been largely forgotten by the general public for six decades before this series revived interest in them.

Early demand for the silver proof significantly outpaced Royal Mint projections, and the issue sold out faster than most comparable commemorative releases in the series that followed.