This new one ounce platinum coin is the fifth release in a brand new series of ten issues. Each of the ten coins in this new series will feature a heraldic animal of the British Royal Family. This is the fifth one ounce platinum coin released by the UK's Royal Mint.

Highlights of this Coin:

• Contains one troy ounce of .9995 fine platinum.
• Each coin has a £100 legal tender face value in the United Kingdom.
• Obverse design features a new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, updated for 2019.
• Reverse design features a unicorn, one of England's most famous heraldic creatures.
• Fifth of ten coins in a new series.
• Individual coins are shipped in a protective coin flip. Orders of 10 come in original mint sealed tubes. Orders of 100 come in a mint sealed box.

In 1536, the infamous King Henry VIII commissioned the carving of ten stone sculptures in honor of his marriage to Jane Seymour (they were engaged the day after the execution of his previous wife, Anne Boleyn). Each of the ten animals depicted in the sculptures represent the heraldry of different branch of Henry and Jane's respective ancestries. These sculptures - the "King's Beasts" - stand to this day on a moat bridge at Henry VIII's primary English residence, Hampton Court Palace.

In advance of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, some four hundred years later, a similar set of sculptures were commissioned. These sculptures also depicted the different mythical creatures representing the various branches of Elizabeth's family in the heraldic system. The sculptures themselves were plaster, not stone, and are now on display indoors at a museum in Canada. Stone replicas are on display in Kew Gardens, London.

This new series of coins from the Royal Mint honors these ten mythical creatures: the Queen's Beasts. In addition to a one ounce platinum coin, a two ounce silver coin, a 1/4 oz gold coin, a 10 oz silver coin and a one ounce gold coin will also be produced for each of the ten animals in the series. This coin, featuring the English Unicorn, is the fourth in the series.

For more than 800 years, the Royal Arms of England has featured one steady design element: the Three Lions. First adopted by King Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart, the Royal Arms of England has been adapted over time to identify the royal claims of various monarchs and the nations within the kingdom. Only the Three Lions have remained steady over the course of time.

Highlights:

• Arrives with an individual protective plastic flip or a mint tube of 10 coins!
• 1^st-ever issue of the British Royal Arms 1 oz Platinum coins!
• Contains 1 Troy oz of .9995 pure platinum in BU condition.
• The face value of 100 Pound sterling (GBP) is backed by Britain.
• Queen Elizabeth II features on the obverse.
• Modern Royal Arms of England on the reverse.
• Design created by Timothy Noad.

King Richard I often carried shields and colors into battle with his English armies that included one or two lions. The lion had been used by his father, King Henry II, in heraldic shields as well as other previous Saxon and Danish kings to rule over portions of England. Richard I eventually adopted a design that featured a field of red with three golden lions in the passant guardant pose as his coat of arms. This became the first officially recognized Royal Arms of England. It is still used in the arms to this day.

Obverse

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and features in a fifth-generation effigy on the obverse of these 2020 British Royal Arms 1 oz Platinum Coins. This depiction of the Queen shows her in right-profile relief wearing the George IV State Diadem Crown. This particular crown contains a stunning 1,333 diamonds weighing more than 300 karats in total.

Reverse

Timothy Noad designed the modern twist on the Royal Arms of England found on the reverse of 2020 British Royal Arms 1 oz Platinum Coins. In this depiction, the quartered shield features the Three Lions of England in the upper-left and lower-right quadrants. The upper-right quadrant has the rampant Lion of Scotland design from the Scottish Coat of Arms, while the lower-left quadrant has the Harp of Ireland representing Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. The heraldic beasts of England and Scotland support the quartered shield with the crowned Lion of England on the left and the Unicorn of Scotland on the right.

History

The Royal Arms of England has changed numerous times in British history. Richard Is Three Lions design was in use from 1198 to 1340, while this modern version has been in use without change since 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne.

The image of Britannia first appeared on coinage circulating on the British Isles during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian more than 2,000 years ago. Since 1672, every monarch in Britain following Charles II has issued coinage with an image of Britannia. 

Coin Highlights:

• Individual coins ship in plastic flips, multiples of 5 – 10 ship in tubes.
• 2nd annual issue of the British Platinum Britannia coin!
• Contains 1 Troy oz of .9995 pure platinum in BU condition.
• Bears a face value of 100 (GBP) backed by the government of Great Britain.
• On the obverse is Queen Elizabeth II.
• The reverse features the image of Britannia from Philip Nathan.

Each of these 2019 1 oz British Platinum Britannia Coins is available to you for purchase in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. These BU coins are available to you individually in protective capsules, in groups of 10 with mint tubes, and multiples of 100 coins in Monster Boxes that contain 10 tubes of 10 coins.

The Platinum Britannia is the latest addition to the Britannia Series from the Royal Mint of England. The first of these coins was the Gold Britannia introduced in 1987, with the Silver Britannia debuting a decade later in 1997. 2018 marked the debut of the Platinum Britannia and these 2019 Platinum Britannias mark the second issue of the popular new version of the coin.

On the reverse of the 2019 1 oz British Platinum Britannia Coin is the design of Britannia created by Philip Nathan in 1987 for the gold version of the coin. Britannia’s image is one of unity and strength for the British people. She first appeared on coins during the reign of Hadrian following the Roman Empire’s successful conquest of the British Isles 2,000 years ago.

As the Romans conquered provinces throughout Europe, female personifications were assigned to those regions to promote unity within the empire and make identification of regions easier. By 1672 and the reign of King Charles II of England, the image of Britannia had returned to British coins and remains there to this day on these bullion platinum coins.

The obverse of 2019 1 oz British Platinum Britannia Coins includes the right-profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. This is the fifth-generation design from Jody Clark and debuted on Royal Mint coins starting in 2016.