2020 2oz White Lion of Mortimer Silver Coin Queen's Beasts

This beautiful 2020 White Lion of Mortimer 2oz silver coin is the eighth of a series of ten that will feature the "Queen's Beasts".

The coin is fine Silver and weighs two ounces (62.2 grams). The Royal Mint issued an initial 100,000 coins, though the Queen's Beast series is officially of unlimited mintage until the end of the year of issue.

The obverse portrait of the Queen and the reverse Falcon were both designed by Jody Clark - an engraver and designer at the Royal Mint. The White Lion of Mortimer is another beast inherited by the Queen from Edward IV of the House of York, and it was a favoured symbol of King George VI - Queen Elizabeth II's father - prior to his coronation.

The Mortimer lion has no crown and has a blue tongue. This lion also sits, rather than rearing up, and holds a Yorkist shield bearing a 'white rose en soleil' (golden sun) on a half-and-half background.

The Queen's Beasts are ten statues which stood guard for the Queen's Coronation, sculpted by James Woodford RA in 1953. The Queen's Beasts are still standing, but are currently housed at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec, Canada. Stone replicas of the statues reside at Kew Gardens, London.