The Lion of England is the second release in the Royal Mint's "Queen's Beast" completer coin series — a 2 oz gold proof that consolidates the heraldic theme running through the ten-coin Queen's Beast program issued between 2016 and 2021. That program drew directly from the ten sculpted beasts commissioned for Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, originally carved by James Woodford and positioned along the route at Westminster Abbey.
Jody Clark, the same engraver responsible for the definitive fifth-portrait effigy of Elizabeth II introduced in 2015, designed the reverse for this series.
The Lion of England is the second release in the Royal Mint's "Queen's Beast" completer coin series — a 2 oz gold proof that consolidates the heraldic theme running through the ten-coin Queen's Beast program issued between 2016 and 2021. That program drew directly from the ten sculpted beasts commissioned for Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, originally carved by James Woodford and positioned along the route at Westminster Abbey.
Jody Clark, the same engraver responsible for the definitive fifth-portrait effigy of Elizabeth II introduced in 2015, designed the reverse for this series.