When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II received her crown on June 2, 1953, ten symbolic creatures, each representing a part of her centuries-long royal lineage, stood guard outside the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. One of those six-foot-tall sculptures standing in silent deference was the White Lion of Mortimer, a fearsome creature that is also the latest release in The Royal Mint’s Queen’s Beasts series.

The seventh coin in the popular series, this White Lion of Mortimer coin bears a legal-tender denomination of £100 (one hundred pounds) and is struck in one full ounce of highly pure 99.99% fine gold. The symbolic coin depicts the creature standing on its hind legs behind a shield that displays a white rose encircled by a golden sun. known as a white rose en soleil, this is really a combination of two distinct badges – badges that appear on the Great Seals of both Edward IV and Richard III. It was also used by the future George VI, The Queen’s father, when he was known as Prince Albert the Duke of York. Unlike the Lion of England, the Mortimer lion has no crown and is often depicted with a blue tongue.