The Royal Tudor Beasts - The Bull of Clarence 1/4 Oz 2023

The Royal Tudor Beasts - The Bull of Clarence - 1/4 Oz

The 1/4 Oz (7.78 g) gold investment coin in the finest 99.99% pure gold, issued by the Royal British Mint for 2023, is the third coin in the "The Royal Tudor Beasts" series, which is dedicated to the ten heraldic animals of King Henry VIII. Tudor and his third wife Jane Seymour. The royal bundle is illustrated by the Seymour panther, the lion of England, the greyhound of Richmond, the yale of Beaufort, the Tudor dragon, the Seymour unicorn, the royal dragon, the Queen's lion, the bull of Clarence and the Queen's panther.

The reverse of the coin depicts a powerful bull with an armorial shield bearing the double rose of the Tudors, a heraldic emblem that arose from the union of the two rival royal dynasties of Lancaster and York. This was the wedding of Henry VIII's parents in 1486. The first Tudor king, Henry VII, was descended on his mother's side from the House of Lancaster and his wife Elizabeth from the House of York. The coin's design is conceived in the inner field against a background of fine decorative engraving of guilloches (Guilloche). The description on the rim of the coin states the name of the coin "BULL OF CLARENCE", the weight and purity of the metal "1/4 oz - FINE GOLD - 999.9" and the year of issue.
The Royal Tudor Beasts is a series of ten heraldic sculptures located on the bridge leading to the Great Tower Gate of Hampton Court Palace in London. The Royal Beasts were chosen by Henry VIII. His third marriage to Jane Seymour in 1536 represented a new hope for a dream male heir and the preservation of the royal line. The stylized form of the statues was elaborated for the coin series by David Lawrence.
The bull but also the buffalo, cow or calf, appear in heraldry in a variety of forms and colours. The bull of Clarence was depicted as a black animal with unusual features during the reign of Henry VIII. His eyes and pupils were black, while his horns, hooves and the tips of the hair on his breast and tail shone golden.
As one of the royal animals, the Black Bull of Clarence demonstrates Henry VIII's connection to the House of York. The mark of the black bull was used by the first Duke of Clarence, Lionel of Antwerp, son of the eminent King Edward III. However, the origins of the heraldic animal may go back even further in history to the House of Clar. Lionel of Antwerp married Elizabeth of Burgh, Countess of Ulster and granddaughter of Elizabeth of Clare. At the same time, Henry VIII was able to claim his Welsh heritage. Lionel and Elizabeth's grandson, Sir Edmund Mortimer, married Catrin Glyndŵr, daughter of the legendary Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr, who was the last native Welshman with the title Prince of Wales. The King's pride in his Welsh roots is also evident in his choice of the Welsh dragon as one of the shield bearers of his coat of arms.

The obverse of the coin bears the first coin portrait of Charles III designed by Martin Jennings with the initials of the artist. The description of the coin states 'CHARLES III - D - G - REX - F - D' and the face value.

This product is part of the following product sets: