2025 2 oz British Tudor Beasts: Greyhound of Richmond Silver Coin (BU)

The 2025 Royal Mint Tudor Beasts Greyhound of Richmond 2 oz Silver Coin, which is the seventh instalment of The Royal Mint's prestigious Royal Tudor Beasts Collection, is one of the most anticipated annual numismatic series from Britain. This is a 999.9 fine silver (four nines purity) Brilliant Uncirculated £5 (Five Pounds Sterling) official British United Kingdom coin.

The reverse is designed by the sculptor David Lawrence, who is known for his work in the Tudor Beasts series, which has been widely praised for its richness of heraldic detail, and has been the subject of an award-winning exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The reverse is designed by the sculptor David Lawrence, whose work in the Tudor Beasts series has been celebrated for its intricate heraldic detail, and is the subject of an award-winning exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, which was also the subject of a major exhibition in the Netherlands several years ago. It's not just a silver bullion coin, it's a piece of British history coming to life at the highest standard of purity.

The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection — Context

In October 2021, The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection - the successor to the hugely successful series “Queen's Beasts” - was launched by The Royal Mint. The series consists of 10 coins issued over 5 years and is directly inspired by the 10 sculpted stone beasts which guard the Moat Bridge at Hampton Court Palace, which were created by Henry VIII to commemorate his ancestry and his marriage to his third wife Jane Seymour in 1536.

The series of coins show one of these heraldic animals: real animals and mythological creatures that symbolised the lineage, strength, and lawful authority of the Tudor dynasty. This 2025 release is the 7th of 10 coins in the series, meaning that it's hit the mid-point of the set and is right on time for set collectors finishing their Tudor Beasts collections.

This coin is part of the 10-coin series that will include: Lion of England (2021), Griffin of Edward III (2022), Falcon of the Plantagenets (2022), Bull of Clarence (2023), Yale of Beaufort (2023), White Horse of Hanover (2024), Greyhound of Richmond (2025), and three more coins are planned for release after this one.

The Heraldic Story of the White Greyhound of Richmond

One of the most complex and historic tales of any animal in the Tudor line, The Greyhound of Richmond. It has been a heraldic journey of almost 600 years:

• The greyhound as a royal heraldic symbol dates back to King Edward III, who ruled for 50 years (1327–1377) and was one of the longest reigning kings in English history. The greyhound was a personal badge of Edward III, and symbol of the qualities of loyalty, courage, speed, fitness and aristocracy.
• The House of Lancaster took up the greyhound as one of their symbols, and passed it on in the dynastic warfare of 15th-century England.
• The White Greyhound was granted to the family as a heraldic supporter in 1449 by King Henry VI who gave the title Earl of Richmond to his half brother Edmund Tudor. The greyhound was therefore made especially associated with the Richmond title and Tudor family and was hence known as ‘Greyhound of Richmond'.
• In 1485, Edmund Tudor's son defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, and became King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England. Legitimacy was one of the backbone of Henry VII's claim to the throne, and the White Greyhound of Richmond was an important means of expressing this claim. He embraced the greyhound into his Royal Arms, putting on display his royal claim.
• The Hampton Court Palace stone beasts were commissioned by Henry VIII and one of his ten King's Beasts, the Greyhound of Richmond, is a sign of his own dynastic continuity and ancestry. It is the Greyhound that specifically ties him to Edward III via the Lancaster and Tudor lines.
• As a direct lineal descendant of Henry VII and James I (who ascended to the throne of England by Elizabeth I's death in 1603), this is a continuation of the same royal thread to which the Greyhound is dedicated, and the portrait of the King on the obverse of this coin is a living continuation of this thread.

Reverse Design — The Greyhound of Richmond (David Lawrence)

• In a brave and upright pose, the White Greyhound features its signature long, slender silhouette and large ribcage, rendered in exquisite detail. The greyhound is a heraldic supporter of the Crown with the Three Lions of England (passant guardant), which stands for the shield it is equipped with for jousting.
• In the background, you can see the surface animation, a cutting-edge security engraving method used to engrave the coin's field. This technology offers high-level anti-counterfeeding security and creates an especially striking depth of the coin that changes depending on the lighting condition.
• Inscriptions on the reverse: GREYHOUND OF RICHMOND | 2 OZ | FINE SILVER 999.9 | 2025
• The design is dynamic, reflecting the Hampton Court stone original - the greyhound is regal, yet has the potential of power and symbolises loyalty and nobility.

Obverse Design — King Charles III (Martin Jennings)

• On the obverse is the official coinage portrait of His Majesty King Charles III using the design by sculptor Martin Jennings.
• King Charles III appears in a left-profile portrait, with no crown to his head – a deliberate design feature by Martin Jennings to have the King look more human and approachable.
• Annotations: CHARLES III | D.G. REX. F.D. (Dei Gratia Rex Fidei Defensor, 'By the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith') | 5 POUNDS

Security — Surface Animation Technology

The reverse of this coin also features surface animation, a novel feature of the Royal Mint, which creates a background pattern with fine details visible to the naked eye but extremely difficult to produce without the precision manufacturing equipment at the Royal Mint. Unlike holographic or foil security elements, surface animation is a part of the struck design of the coin.

When the coin is tilted under a light, it gives a moving shimmering optical effect. Makes counterfeiting much harder: The pattern cannot be accurately reproduced by chemical etching or by a simple ‘die-copying' process. Employed in all of Royal Mint's most collectable bullion collections such as Britannia coins and the Tudor Beasts collection. Provides a quick and easy authenticity verification tool for collectors, Genuine Royal Mint coins with surface animation have a recognisable visual signature to help trained buyers identify them instantly.

Investment & Collecting Case

• 7th of 10 Collectors will now be in the final stages of completing this set as there are only three more Tudor Beasts coins remaining. Each new release usually drives up interest in the earlier releases.
• The most common standard bullion fineness (all major mint competitors); .9999 standard fine silver: four nines, highest fineness standard in standard bullion production.
• 2 Troy Ounces of silver: double the silver weight of a regular 1 oz coin and it provides more silver in each coin and more surface to show off Tudor Beasts designs!
• Import credibility and institutional recognition, beyond that of private mint rounds, from the British government, as this is legal tender in the UK.
• The Royal Mint - one of the oldest and most renowned government mints in the world - has been minting coins for the British for more than 1,100 years. It has good secondary market premiums for its products.
• Secondary market demand: Tudor Beasts collectors are watching carefully as the Queen's Beasts series (predecessor to Tudor Beasts) performed well in the secondary market due to sets being completed.
• Exempt from Capital Gains Tax for UK residents, being UK sterling legal tender, is a significant tax benefit for UK collectors.

Packaging & Delivery from BOLD

• Individual coins arrive in an official Royal Mint single coin capsule
• Orders of 10 coins ship in a sealed Royal Mint plastic tube
• Orders of 200 coins (20 tubes) ship in a Royal Mint box
• All BOLD domestic orders of $199 or more ship FREE
• Every order ships fully insured!
• Expected to ship within 1 business day of cleared payment
• Buy-back available; BOLD's Sell To Us program accepts Royal Mint coins