The Queen’s Beast Series catalogs in its designs the 10 heraldic beasts that were depicted in the form of statues at the official coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II. As Her Majesty, the Queen entered Westminster Abbey in 1953 where the beasts that have featured in the Royal Arms of England over more than 800 years were waiting to support her ascension to the throne. These beasts came from different houses to control the crown over the centuries, with one of the more recent being the White Horse of Hanover. The House of Hanover controlled the throne of England for nearly 200 years from 1714 to 1901. Today, the new 2020 British Queen’s Beast White Horse bullion coins are available from Provident Metals.
New Reverse – White Horse of Hanover
In the 9th release of the Queen’s Beast Series, the Royal Mint of England features the primary heraldic beast of the House of Hanover. The 2020 British Queen’s Beast White Horse bullion coins feature a new reverse design with the White Horse, a powerful stallion, standing behind the Royal Arms of England from King George I. Upon his ascension to the throne of England, King George I made a slight alteration to the Royal Arms that had previously been carried by Queen Anne.
The Royal Arms of England featured in this design includes a quartered shield. The first quadrant of the shield has the impaled Three Lions of England and Lion of Scotland, a symbol of the union of the two crowns into one kingdom in 1707. The second quadrant maintained the French fleur de lis symbolizing the British crown’s claim to the throne of France. In the third quadrant, the Harp of Ireland that now symbolizes Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, but at the time symbolized the whole of the island of Ireland. For George I, the fourth quadrant had the Arms of Hanover, complete with the White Horse of Hanover.
Impressive Obverse – Queen Elizabeth II
Since 2016, all British denominations feature the fifth-generation right-profile bust of Queen Elizabeth II. This design was created in July 2015 by Jody Clark and depicts the Queen at the age of 89. She wears the George IV State Diadem Crown commissioned by King George IV in the first year of his reign in 1820. The background field includes the guilloche design element and the coin has inscriptions of the face value, “Elizabeth II,” and “D.G. Reg F.D.”
Details of the White Horse of Hanover Release
The 2020 British Queen’s Beast White Horse coins are available in 2 oz silver bullion, 1/4 oz gold bullion, and 1 oz gold bullion coins at first. Later on, the Royal Mint will release the 10 oz silver and 1 oz platinum bullion coins, along with the various weights available in the proof silver and gold options. For the silver and gold bullion coins available first, the Royal Mint offers them in the following packaging options:
- 2 oz silver – individual flips, tubes of 10, Monster Boxes of 200
- 1/4 oz gold – individual flips, tubes of 25, Monster Boxes of 500
- 1 oz gold – individual flips, tubes of 10 coins, Monster Boxes of 100
King George I’s Royal Arms
As mentioned earlier, King George I did little to alter the existing Royal Arms of England when he came to the throne in 1714. The House of Hanover ruled England from 1714 when George I took the throne until 1901 when Queen Victoria died. For 85 years, the Royal Arms of England carried by King George I went unchanged. This included the entire reign of King George I, the entire reign of his son King George II, and the first 40 years of the reign of King George III.
While King George I used the Arms of Hanover in the fourth quadrant with the impaled Three Lions of England and Lion of Scotland together in the first quadrant. Starting in 1801 with the Acts of Union 1801, the French Revolution and wars with France in Europe resulted in the British monarchy relinquishing claims to the throne of France. As such, King George III altered the Royal Arms to place the Three Lions of England in the first and fourth quadrants alone, with the Lion of Scotland reinstalled in the second quadrant alone. The Harp of Ireland remained in the third quadrant, and the Arms of Hanover were now included centered on the shield above the other designs. From 1801 to 1816, the Arms of Hanover have an electoral bonnet. From 1816 to 1837, the bonnet was replaced with a crown as Hanover rose to the status of a kingdom following the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars.
History of the House of Hanover
The House of Hanover ruled the throne of England from 1714 when George I rose to the throne and ended in 1901 when Queen Victoria I died. However, the Arms of Hanover was only carried by five of the six monarchs. King George I, King George II, King George III, King George IV, and King William IV all carried the Arms of Hanover. Queen Victoria, however, did not as the crown of Hanover was not allowed, under Salic law, to pass to a woman. Therefore, Queen Victoria would not hold the crown of Hanover and did not carry the Arms of Hanover in her Royal Arms of England.
Investing in the 2020 Queen’s Beast White Horse Coin with Provident Metals
The 2020 Queen’s Beast White Horse Coins are available to purchase through Provident Metals. You can call our customer service team for help at 800-313-3315, chat with us live online, or email us directly.
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