2019 Queen's Beasts Yale Of Beaufort One Kilogram Silver Proof Coin

A limited mintage of just 90 individually boxed coins. This 2019 'The Yale of Beaufort' 1kg silver proof coin is the sixth coin in 'The Queen's Beasts' series from The Royal Mint. The coin's obverse presents the 5th Portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II, with the reverse depicting the mythical Yale in a 'rampant' pose over the shield of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. The theme of using a shield on the coin's reverse acts as a motif connecting The Queen's Beasts 10-coin collection. First released in 2017, the series commemorates the year Her Majesty became the longest reigning monarch in British history. It celebrates the 10 ancestral beasts of myth, legend and heraldry, which have watched over Elizabeth II throughout her reign. The limited presentation includes a boxed coin, a Certificate of Authenticity and a booklet produced in collaboration with Clive Cheesman, Richmond Herald at the College of Arms. 

The Yale of Beaufort 

For every coin in the series, Royal Mint engraver Jody Clark took inspiration from heraldry and the true nature of the beast. The Yale of Beaufort was a symbol of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, who later inherited the arms. The Yale bears a shield with the white and blue quarters of Margaret's arms with a centralised golden portcullis, a badge used by Henry VII. Westminster City Council, which is home to Westminster Abbey, the site of The Queen's 1953 Coronation, uses the portcullis within their arms too. 

The mythical and ancient Yale was often described as; the size of a hippopotamus with the tail of an elephant, the jaws of a boar and of a black or tawny colour. It is said the Yale can individually swivel its horns, using them as two independent weapons in battle. Lady Beaufort played a vital role in the Wars of the Roses. Her position as matriarch of the Tudor dynasty gifted the legendary Yale the prestige it receives today.

The Queen's Beasts

The Yale is joined by nine other ancestral beasts of heraldry, myth and legend believed to have watched over Her Majesty The Queen since her Coronation Day. These 10 creatures are known as The Queen's Beasts:

• The White Greyhound of Richmond
• The White Horse of Hanover
• The White Lion of Mortimer
• The Yale of Beaufort
• The Falcon of the Plantagenets
• The Black Bull of Clarence
• The Red Dragon of Wales
• The Unicorn of Scotland
• The Lion of England

The Yale of Beaufort was one of 10 statues sculpted by James Woodford, OBE. The six-foot-tall statues formed a guard of honour, The Queen's Beasts, at the entrance to Westminster Abbey in 1953, on the occasion of the coronation of Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II. The figures were inspired by statues at Hampton Court Palace created over 400 years ago for Henry VIII and known as The King's Beasts. Today, The Queen's Beasts are displayed at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec. Portland stone replicas, again designed by James Woodford, OBE, watch over Kew Gardens in London.