Article: Is the Royal Tudor Beasts Completer the Coin of the Year? Mintages, Premiums & Auction Prices
Is the Royal Tudor Beasts Completer the Coin of the Year? Mintages, Premiums & Auction Prices
Every year, collectors argue about which release truly earned the title of coin of the year. This year, one candidate has made the argument harder for everyone else: the 2027 Royal Tudor Beasts Completer.
It sold out almost instantly, premiums on the secondary market have been eye-watering, and at Coins of the Realm in October a PF70-graded 2oz Crown Privy gold proof sold for £18,000 against an issue price of £10,535. So, is it the coin of the year? Let's look at the evidence.
A quick note: this isn't an official award. It's our verdict as dealers who handle these coins every day.
Contents
- What makes a coin of the year?
- Scarcity: the mintages
- Demand: how fast it sold
- The secondary market: issue price vs today
- The Queen's Beasts precedent
- Design and significance
- The case against
- Our verdict
- FAQ
What makes a coin of the year?
There's no single formula, but a genuine coin of the year tends to tick the same handful of boxes: it's scarce, it sells out fast, collectors keep paying more for it once the dust has settled, it has real historical or design significance, and it has a track record behind it. Let's score the Completer on each.
Scarcity: the mintages
The Royal Mint publishes an edition limit for each proof, and the maximum coin mintage sits slightly above it. Here is the full proof range with issue prices:
| Coin | Edition limit | Maximum mintage | Issue price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2oz Gold Proof, Crown Privy | 50 | 60 | £10,535 |
| 1oz Gold Proof, Crown Privy | 75 | 85 | £5,320 |
| 2oz Gold Proof | 75 | 81 | £10,535 |
| 1oz Gold Proof | 300 | 310 | £5,320 |
| 1/4oz Gold Proof | 350 | 360 | £1,360 |
| 10oz Silver Proof | 125 | 131 | £1,597.50 |
| 5oz Silver Proof | 200 | 206 | £787.50 |
| Silver Proof Two-Coin Set | 375 sets | 385 | £325 |
| 2oz Silver Proof | 750 | 756 | £325 |
| 1oz Silver Proof | 6,000 | 6,387 | £165 |
Those are tiny numbers for a coin everyone wanted. The standard 2oz gold proof is limited to 75, and even the most accessible silver size is capped at 6,000. The Crown Privy gold versions are rarer still, at just 50 for the 2oz and 75 for the 1oz, yet they were issued at the same price as the standard coins.
So what makes a Crown Privy coin different? Each carries a small Tudor Crown privy mark on the reverse, along with extra frosting and detail around the arches and more detailing on the Tudor rose at the centre of the design. They're the same coin, but visibly a step up for anyone who looks closely.
The Crown Privy mintages are the figures to watch, because they're what makes the auction results below so striking.
The Royal Mint's own maximum mintages for the standard coins sit slightly above the edition limits shown. Elsewhere in the range, the Silver Proof Two-Coin Set is the only way to get the reverse frosted proof, which was never sold on its own, making it one of the scarcest silver editions in the whole Royal Tudor Beasts collection.
Demand: how fast it sold
Almost every size sold out on release day. The Royal Mint showed everything except the £5 Brilliant Uncirculated coin and the 1oz silver proof as no longer available on release day, and collectors watching the release put most of that at roughly an hour. The 1oz silver proof, with its much larger mintage of 6,000, lasted longer but officially sold out on Saturday 19th September.
In other words, the entire proof range was gone within about nine days of release, and the vast majority within a single morning. That's the kind of demand that tends to carry over into the secondary market.
The secondary market: issue price vs today
This is where the Completer really separates itself. Here's how issue prices compare with what these coins are fetching or being listed at now:
| Coin | Issue price | Now | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2oz Crown Privy Gold Proof, PF70 (Coins of the Realm, October) | £10,535 | £18,000 sold | 1.7x |
| 1oz Crown Privy Gold Proof, PF70 (same auction) | £5,320 | £10,700 sold | 2.0x |
| 2oz Gold Proof, boxed (our asking price) | £10,535 | £15,690 | 1.5x |
| 2oz Silver Proof, boxed (dealer asking prices) | £325 | Over £890 | 2.7x or more |
| Silver Proof Two-Coin Set (our asking price) | £325 | £890 | 2.7x |
A few things stand out. Raw, boxed 2oz silver proofs are being listed at well over double their release price, which is unusual for a silver coin at this stage of its life. Meanwhile the graded gold is doing something even more notable: at Coins of the Realm, which charges no buyer's premium, a PF70 2oz Crown Privy gold proof sold for £18,000 and a PF70 1oz Crown Privy gold proof sold for £10,700, roughly double its issue price. That shows serious buyers are willing to pay a considerable premium for top-grade examples.
It's worth being clear that both auction coins were the Crown Privy versions, limited to just 50 and 75 pieces, so they aren't a like-for-like comparison with the standard issues. They do show where the very top of the market is heading.
Why the extra premium for PF70? Grading by NGC or PCGS certifies a coin as free from visible flaws at the highest possible level, and for a coin with a mintage this small there may be very few examples that make the grade. If you'd like to understand how that works, take a look at our guide to NGC and PCGS graded gold.
Please note that the auction figures are individual results and the dealer figures are asking prices rather than guaranteed sale prices.
The Queen's Beasts precedent
None of this should come as a complete surprise. The Completer name was borrowed from the 2021 Queen's Beasts Completer, the coin that brought all ten Queen's Beasts together around a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Its 1oz gold proof was limited to just 625 coins, it sold out, and it has been one of the most sought-after modern British proof coins ever since, in every size and metal.
The Tudor Beasts version follows exactly the same script: a final coin in a long-running, much-loved series, with every beast on one design and mintages far below what demand would support. If history is a guide, the Queen's Beasts story shows that the most interesting chapter for a Completer often begins after it sells out.
Design and significance
It's also simply a great-looking coin. Designed by David Lawrence in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces, the reverse arranges all ten beasts from the Moat Bridge at Hampton Court Palace in a protective circle around a raised Tudor rose. Five represent King Henry VIII and five his third wife, Jane Seymour. It's the only coin in the series to show every beast together, and it closes a five-year collection that collectors have followed from the first Seymour Panther.
That sense of closure matters. Completing a set is one of the strongest motivations in collecting, and the Completer is the coin that everyone who followed the series needs.
The case against
To be fair, there are reasons for caution. Premiums can cool as quickly as they heat up, particularly when a coin has only just launched and early buyers are chasing every available piece. A couple of auction results don't set a permanent price, and asking prices aren't the same as sold prices. The year also isn't over, and other releases, including the 2027 Sovereign range, have their own fans. And as with any collectable, nothing here is a guarantee of future value.
Our verdict
Weigh it all up and the Completer is a very strong contender for coin of the year: tiny mintages, an almost instant sell-out, premiums that are already well beyond issue price, a design that completes a much-loved series, and a direct precedent in the Queen's Beasts Completer. Whether it ultimately takes the crown will depend on how the market behaves over the coming months, but right now it's hard to name a modern British release that has a stronger case.
Own a Completer, or looking for one?
We stock and buy Royal Tudor Beasts Completer coins, boxed as issued by The Royal Mint. See what we currently have available, or get a same-day valuation if you'd like to sell.
Shop Completer Coins | Sell to Sovara | Contact Sovara Coins
You can also read our full Royal Tudor Beasts Completer guide for the complete range and release-day details.
FAQ
Is the Completer officially the coin of the year?
No. This is our own view as dealers, not an official award. We think it has an unusually strong case based on scarcity, demand, secondary market prices and significance.
How much did the 2oz gold Completer sell for at auction?
At Coins of the Realm in October, a PF70-graded 2oz Crown Privy gold proof Completer sold for £18,000, against an issue price of £10,535. A PF70 1oz Crown Privy gold proof sold for £10,700 in the same auction, against an issue price of £5,320. The auction house charges no buyer's premium, and both coins were the rarer Crown Privy versions (50 and 75 minted respectively).
How rare is the 2027 Tudor Beasts Completer?
The standard 2oz gold proof has an edition limit of just 75, the 1oz gold proof 300 and the 1/4oz gold proof 350, while the Crown Privy versions were limited to 50 (2oz) and 75 (1oz). The silver range runs from 125 for the 10oz up to 6,000 for the 1oz. Every size is now sold out at The Royal Mint.
Why is it called the Completer?
It completes the series by showing all ten Tudor beasts on one coin. The Royal Mint doesn't use the name officially, but collectors adopted it from the 2021 Queen's Beasts Completer and it's now how the coin is known across the trade.
Is the Completer a good investment?
We can't give investment advice, and past performance isn't a guide to the future. What we can say is that low-mintage Royal Mint proof coins in this series have historically held strong collector demand, and that UK legal tender coins are exempt from Capital Gains Tax for UK residents. This is general information, not tax advice.
Where can I buy a Completer now?
Since every size has sold out at The Royal Mint, the secondary market is the route. Browse our Completer Coin collection for what we currently have, or get in touch and we'll help you find a specific size.
