Silver Investment Coin The Queen's Beasts The Unicorn 2 Oz 2018

The Queen´s Beasts - Unicorn Scotland - 2 Oz

The 2 Oz (62.2 g) silver investment coin in the finest 99.99% pure silver issued by the Royal British Mint for 2018 is the fourth coin in the "The Queen's Beasts" series, which is dedicated to the ten heraldic animals of Queen Elizabeth II - the Lion of England, the Griffin of Edward III., The Falcon of the Plantagenets, the Black Bull of the Dukes of Clarence, the Yale of Beaufort, the White Lion of Mortimer, the White Hound of Richmond, the Red Dragon of Wales, the Unicorn of Scotland and the White Horse of Hanover.

The coin bears on its reverse the motif of a rearing unicorn with a crown around its neck and a chain. At its front hooves is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland - a red lion in leap. The rim of the motif is decorated with the inscriptions "UNICORN OF SCOTLAND", the weight "2 oz", the purity "FINE SILVER, 999.9", the year of issue "2018" and the initials of the designer "JC".
The Queen's Beasts is a series of ten heraldic sculptures created by sculptor James Woodford to celebrate the Queen's coronation in 1953. Their stylized form for the coin series was created by the talented engraver Jody Clark.
The unicorn is a mythical animal known from stories dating back to 400 BC. In the original descriptions, it was a huge, powerful and ferocious animal. Only later did it become an elegant beast and a symbol of purity and innocence. It first appeared as a shield-bearer on the coat of arms of Scotland in 1480. After the death of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, King James VI of the Stuarts succeeded to the English throne in 1603. He assumed a new title and, as James I, chose the unicorn to become the shield-bearer of the royal arms, along with the lion of England. The unicorn of Scotland has a milky white colouring, golden hooves, horn and mane. The crown hangs around its neck by a gold chain, a symbol of tamed strength in the service of the King.

The obverse shows a traditional portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by the same artist who designed the reverse, with the inscription 'ELIZABETH II. D.G.REG.F.D." and the denomination "5 POUNDS".

This product is part of the following product sets: