2 oz Queen’s Beast Yale of Beaufort Silver Coin (2019)

The 2 oz Yale of Beaufort silver coin is the 7th release in the 10-coin Queen’s Beasts series from The Royal Mint (UK).

Silver yale coins contain 2 troy oz of .9999 fine silver. These are sovereign coins fully backed by the British government.

The back of the coin features the long-horned beast, the Yale of Beaufort, along with the weight, purity and year-date.

The yale’s origins are traced to Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII – the first monarch of the House of Tudor.

An effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II adorns the front of the coin along with the face value of 5 pounds.

The Queen’s Beasts are inspired by centuries of history and royal heraldry. The ten coins depict the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II, with each of the heraldic beasts symbolizing the various strands of The Queen’s royal ancestry.

The original beasts were a series of 6-foot tall statues that stood guard outside The Queen’s coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

Today, they are re-imagined as beautiful, bullion coins.

Each proud beast was used as a heraldic badge by generations that came before Queen Elizabeth II. Centuries ago, these badges adorned the flags and shields of armies as they charged into battle — not only to identify each side but also to serve as a symbol of royal lineage and title.

About the Yale of Beaufort

The Yale is a mythical beast with characteristics of an antelope or goat, depending on the imagination of the artist and their desire to portray grace and elegance, or strength and determination. Strangely, it is said to have horns that can turn independently so in medieval illustrations it is often shown with horns pointing in different directions. The white and gold-spotted Yale of Beaufort has such horns along with the whiskers or ‘tushes’ of a boar.

The Yale of Beaufort was a symbol of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. The Yale of The Queen’s Beasts holds a shield with the blue and white quarters of Margaret’s arms but with a golden portcullis at the center, a badge used by Henry VII. The portcullis is also part of the arms of Westminster City Council, which is home to Westminster Abbey.