1oz The Royal Tudor Beasts: The Seymour Panther Gold Coin

Introduction

At Tavex, we are proud to present the 2026 Seymour Panther 1oz Gold Coin, the tenth and final individual release in The Royal Tudor Beasts Bullion Collection from The Royal Mint. Almost five hundred years ago, ten heraldic beasts were carved in stone to line the Moat Bridge at Hampton Court Palace. They were commissioned by Henry VIII to mark his marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour, and each one was a statement of dynastic authority: a claim of ancestry, legitimacy and the union of two great houses, set permanently in stone at the gateway to the king's favourite palace.

Using animals and mythical creatures to declare lineage is a medieval English practice, but it was the Tudor dynasty that raised heraldic art to its highest expression. Among the ten guardians, the panther belonged to the new queen. Henry VIII granted it to Jane Seymour from the royal treasury of beasts, and it stands supporting a shield bearing the Seymour wings. History gives the beast an unsettling origin: it is understood to have begun as the heraldic leopard of Anne Boleyn, reworked into a panther for her successor after Anne's execution. In heraldry the panther is often shown "incensed", with flames issuing from its mouth and ears, a reference to the sweet breath that medieval bestiaries claimed drew every other creature towards it. Courage, grace, loyalty and royal dignity are all read into the beast.

The reverse of the coin was created by sculptor and illustrator David Lawrence, who has designed the entire Royal Tudor Beasts series, working in partnership with the experts at Historic Royal Palaces. His interpretation of the Hampton Court statue is set against a background evoking the grandeur of the Tudor court, and is further enhanced by surface animation, a micro-detailed feature that shifts in the light and provides an additional layer of security. The obverse carries the official coinage portrait of His Majesty King Charles III by Martin Jennings.

There is a particular symmetry to this release. The Seymour Panther opened the Royal Tudor Beasts collection when the series was first announced, and it now closes it as the last of the ten beasts to appear individually on a bullion coin. For anyone who began collecting with the Lion of England in 2022 and followed the Yale of Beaufort, the Bull of Clarence, the Seymour Unicorn, the Tudor Dragon, the Queen's Panther, the Greyhound of Richmond, the Queen's Lion and the Royal Dragon, this is the coin that completes the set.

As the United Kingdom's official government-authorised mint, The Royal Mint strikes coins that carry the status of legal tender. For UK residents this means the Seymour Panther is exempt from Capital Gains Tax, and as investment-grade gold it is free of VAT. Struck in 1oz of 999.9 fine gold to bullion standard and supplied in a single-coin capsule.

Why Buy

• The Seymour Panther is the tenth and final beast to appear individually in The Royal Tudor Beasts Bullion Collection. It completes a series five years in the making and is the closing piece for every collector who has followed it from the beginning.
• Royal Tudor Beasts coins are semi-numismatic. They are struck to bullion standard and sold at bullion-style premiums, but each design is produced only for a limited window before the next release takes its place, which is why collectors tend to secure them early.
• The coin is a genuine work of art in physical gold. David Lawrence's interpretation of the Hampton Court statue, created in partnership with Historic Royal Palaces, carries the detail and character that has made the series one of The Royal Mint's most admired modern programmes.
• Surface animation on the reverse adds both visual depth and an advanced security feature, continuing The Royal Mint's work in raising the standard of visual security in the bullion market.
• British gold coins carry meaningful tax advantages. The Seymour Panther is exempt from Capital Gains Tax for UK residents and is free of VAT, so gains are not diminished by tax on disposal.
• One-ounce gold coins are among the most liquid and recognisable forms of physical gold worldwide. They keep a holding divisible in a way a large bar cannot, allowing you to sell part of your position without breaking up the whole.
• Physical gold is widely held as a diversifier and a store of value outside the banking system, and a Royal Mint coin combines that role with the assurance of the United Kingdom's national mint, whose standards are tested annually at the centuries-old Trial of the Pyx.