1/4 oz Gold Coin Tudor Beasts Seymour Panther 2026
- Series Finale: last of ten beasts
- Top Fineness: 999.9/1,000 gold
- Royal Mint: over 1,100 years
- Series FinaleCompletes the series of ten Queen's Beasts of Hampton Court
- Top FinenessNearly pure gold, as pure as rarely seen in bullion coins
- Royal MintStruck in Wales by the Kingdom's official mint
- Series Finale: last of ten beasts
- Top Fineness: 999.9/1,000 gold
- Royal Mint: over 1,100 years
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Royal Mint · Tudor Beasts
The guardians of the Crown
Royal Tudor Beasts 2026, 1/4 ounce gold, picture side
Heraldic beasts guard the Crown: in 1536 on the bridge at Hampton Court, in 1953 outside the Abbey for the coronation.
1536 · Hampton Court
Ten guardians on the bridge
In 1536 Henry VIII had the stone bridge over the moat at Hampton Court completed, built of brick and more than 600 tonnes of stone. On it stood ten heraldic beasts, the King’s Beasts, displaying the King’s ancestry.
In the 17th century the bridge and the beasts vanished into the moat for more than 150 years. When the excavation began in 1909, only fragments of the beasts were found; the figures guarding the entrance today are copies from the 1950s.
2 June 1953 · Westminster
Ten beasts in plaster
For the coronation of Elizabeth II, ten heraldic beasts stood outside the Abbey’s glass-fronted annexe, designed by Eric Bedford: six feet tall, made of plaster, the work of James Woodford. His model was the King’s Beasts of Hampton Court.
The ten beasts chosen were those that best showed the Queen’s ancestry, from the Lion of England and the Griffin of Edward III to the Unicorn of Scotland and the White Horse of Hanover.
1956 · Kew
Guardians in Portland stone
At Kew, copies in Portland stone stand guard outside the Palm House, by the same sculptor, given in 1956 by an anonymous donor.
After the coronation the plaster figures went to Hampton Court and in 1957 to Windsor. Since 1959 they have belonged to Canada and stand in the Canadian Museum of History.
Royal Tudor Beasts · 2026
The Seymour Panther
David Lawrence based the panther on the figure on the bridge at Hampton Court, with surface animation as an additional security feature. Among the bullion coins it is the tenth release and the last beast to appear individually; it had opened the collector coins in 2022.
The value side carries Charles III, a quarter ounce of gold at 999.9/1,000.
ShieldThe shield of the beast
YearThe year, as struck
Initials MJMJ: the initials of Martin Jennings
Arms and crown
Lion and unicorn hold the arms
On the Royal Arms gold of 2022, the lion and the unicorn hold the royal arms, with the motto “DIEU ET MON DROIT” beneath. For the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the Sovereign too carried the royal arms instead of St George.
The crown itself becomes a motif too: St Edward’s Crown and the Imperial State Crown appear in 2026 as coloured reliefs on two ounces of silver from Niue.
The Lion and the Eagle unites the British lion and the American eagle, designed by Jonathan Olliffe.
The Sovereign
A gold coin travels the world
Henry VII gave the name Sovereign to a new gold coin in 1489. In the 19th century the Sovereign was called the “chief coin of the world”, accepted even in Brazil.
The Royal Mint also struck it at branch mints, from Sydney from 1855 to Pretoria from 1923, almost 500 million pieces in all. Today the Australian Sovereign of the Perth Mint shows a new St George, drawn by Jennifer McKenna.
The faces of the Crown
One face, seven decades
Mary Gillick showed Elizabeth II with a laurel wreath instead of a crown, and Jody Clark chose the diadem of her coronation in 2015: the first and the fifth of her portraits on British coins.
On British coins the portrait of Charles III is by Martin Jennings; the King approved it himself. The Queen’s British coins remained valid: some 27 billion were in circulation when the first circulating coins with Charles were struck.
At a glance
- Series
- The Royal Tudor Beasts
- Metal
- gold
- Weight
- 1/4 ounce
- Fineness
- 999.9/1,000
- Country of issue
- Great Britain
- Face value
- 25 Pounds
- Year
- 2026
- Quality
- brilliant uncirculated
- Mint
- The Royal Mint
The British Crown
Today the heraldic beasts stand guard at Kew in Portland stone, in Canada in plaster and on coins in gold and silver.
Seymour Panther 2026 – the crowning finale of the Royal Tudor Beasts
- Design: A spotted panther with a crown around its neck rests upon a heraldic shield bearing the so-called Seymour Wings. It is the personal heraldic beast of Jane Seymour and, at the same time, the tenth and final issue of the bullion series.
- Material / Fineness: 7.78 g of the purest gold in the top fineness of 999.9/1,000. This so-called "Four Nines" fine gold is as pure as investment gold is ever struck in coin form.
- Manufacturer: The Royal Mint from Llantrisant in Wales, the United Kingdom's traditional mint with more than 1,100 years of experience.
- Face value & format: 25 British Pounds (25 Pounds), 22.00 mm diameter, Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) condition, securely stored in a coin capsule.
Ten heraldic beasts, five years of issue, one worthy conclusion. With the 1/4 oz gold coin Tudor Beasts Seymour Panther 2026, the Royal Mint completes its celebrated bullion coin series centred on the heraldic beasts of Henry VIII. Anyone who has been collecting the series piece by piece now holds the final missing design in their hands. And for those just getting started? They will find in this panther one of the finest reasons to explore British gold coins.
Ten stone guardians of Hampton Court
The model for the Royal Tudor Beasts still stands at the gates of London today. On the Moat Bridge of Hampton Court Palace, ten stone heraldic beasts line the path to the palace. They were originally intended to visibly demonstrate the lineage and claim to power of the Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII deliberately included the heraldry of his third wife, Jane Seymour, to whom he granted the panther as a personal symbol.
With this series, the Royal Mint builds on the worldwide success of the Queen's Beasts, whose designs were based on the heraldic beasts of the coronation of Elizabeth II. Since 2022, the Tudor Beasts have been issued as bullion coins in gold, silver and platinum. The issues at a glance:
- 2022: Lion of England (launch of the bullion series)
- 2023: Bull of Clarence and Yale of Beaufort
- 2024: Tudor Dragon and Seymour Unicorn
- 2025: Greyhound of Richmond and Queen's Panther
- 2026: Queen's Lion, Royal Dragon and, as the tenth design, the Seymour Panther
A small curiosity for connoisseurs: among the collector editions in Proof quality, it was the Seymour Panther that opened the series in 2022, of all designs. In the bullion coin version, however, it forms the glorious finale.
Design side: a panther full of symbolic power
The design comes from artist and sculptor David Lawrence, who created all the animals of the series for the Royal Mint. His Seymour Panther sits upright, head turned to the side with its mouth open. The long tail sweeps upward in an elegant curve behind its back. Countless round spots cover its coat. The animal wears a crown around its neck, and with its front paws it holds the shield bearing the feathered Seymour Wings. The inscription reads "SEYMOUR PANTHER · 1/4oz FINE GOLD · 999.9", with the year of issue 2026 beneath it.
One detail only truly comes to life in the light: the finely textured background features a surface animation effect. It creates vivid reflections and simultaneously serves as an effective security feature.
Portrait side: King Charles III
The reverse side shows the official left-facing coin portrait of King Charles III, designed by Martin Jennings. His initials "MJ" appear discreetly on the neckline. The legend "CHARLES III · D · G · REX · F · D · 25 POUNDS" stands for "Dei Gratia Rex Fidei Defensor", meaning King by the Grace of God and Defender of the Faith. Thanks to its face value, the coin is official legal tender in the United Kingdom.
Why the quarter ounce in particular?
The 1/4 oz is the format for anyone wishing to remain flexible. Rather than tying up their entire capital in a single ounce, investors can spread their holdings across several smaller units. Later, they can then sell off exactly the amount they currently need. In fairness, the downside should also be mentioned: the premium per gram is somewhat higher than with the larger 1 oz issue at 100 Pounds, which is also available.
Compared with other popular quarter-ounce coins, the Seymour Panther shows clear strengths:
- Britannia 1/4 oz: It comes from the same mint, has the same fineness and likewise measures 22 mm, but offers a recurring central motif rather than a completed collecting theme.
- Queen's Beasts 1/4 oz: The direct predecessor has long established itself as a modern classic of the Royal Mint. The Tudor Beasts carry this tradition forward with distinction.
- Krugerrand 1/4 oz: It is legendary, but is struck in 22 carat (916.7/1,000) with a copper content. The panther, by contrast, consists of almost pure fine gold.
- Vienna Philharmonic 1/4 oz: It is likewise 999.9 fine and denominated in euros, but carries the same design year after year.
Gold – the world's oldest currency
For more than 6,000 years, people have placed their trust in the yellow metal. Even in ancient Egypt it served as a unit of measure for trade. Kings and emperors wore it as a sign of their power, and along the Silk Road it eased the exchange of goods across continents. In the 19th and 20th centuries, paper money under the gold standard could at any time be redeemed for a fixed quantity of the precious metal. Currencies came and went. Gold remained.
Gold is God's money. It has never had a value of zero, because it possesses intrinsic value.
Unlike fiat money, which central banks can expand at will, the supply of gold is limited. This is precisely what makes it a proven inflation hedge that preserves purchasing power across generations. It is notable that central banks themselves are, of all parties, the largest holders of gold in the world — a clear signal of just how much trust they actually place in their own paper money.
As crisis protection, physical gold offers support amid political and economic turbulence. It is recognised worldwide, highly liquid and can be converted into cash at any time. Gold is the big brother of smaller silver. It is durable, retains its properties over centuries, and is excellently suited as a means of retirement provision or as wealth passed on to children and grandchildren.
Tax advantages when buying gold
As investment gold, the gold coin is exempt from VAT in Germany. After a holding period of at least one year, profits from the sale are also generally tax-free for private individuals.
Who is the Seymour Panther 2026 suitable for?
For collectors wishing to complete their Royal Tudor Beasts, this issue is simply indispensable. Investors seeking fine gold in a convenient denomination with royal heritage will find it an elegant choice. And as a gift for a christening, wedding or anniversary, it tells a story that reaches back nearly 500 years: from the court of Henry VIII straight into your vault.
Product depiction may differ from the final product.
