A dramatic interpretation of the heraldic ‘Red Dragon of Wales’ is to feature on a range of bullion coins that will be available to purchase direct from The Royal Mint later this month. Due to be launched in mid-March, those interested in investing in the gold and silver bullion-grade coins can register their interest at www.royalmintbullion.com to receive an alert as soon as the limited edition coins are available.

The Queen’s Beasts coin series celebrates ten creatures that have featured throughout hundreds of years of British royal heraldry, and has been designed by Wales-based Royal Mint coin designer Jody Clark, best known for being the creator of The Queen’s most recent coinage portrait that appears not only on the obverse of this bullion coin, but on all UK circulating and commemorative coinage too.

Jody said: “It is an amazing feeling to have my designs selected to feature on both sides of a coin. As a Royal Mint coin designer, I have the opportunity of working on the technical aspects of the coinage, as well as on the creative side, so each coin feels very much like a personal project from start to finish.”

“I researched the origins of heraldry and coats of arms, and wanted to replicate the sense of strength and courage the beasts were designed to convey. I created a sense of movement to make the beasts bold and dynamic, but the shields they guard still feature strongly as they are integral to the story.”

The designs are being introduced a ‘beast’ at a time; the Red Dragon of Wales is the most recent in the collection, and follows on from the launch of the gallant ‘Lion of England’ (March 2016), and Griffin of Edward III (November 2016).