Queen Coins from The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint has released Queen Coins as the first in a Music Legends British Coin series released to celebrate bands and music artists of the UK.
Other coins in the series include The Who coins, Elton John coins, and David Bowie coins. The Rolling Stones Coins were released in December 2022.
The first band on a UK Coin
Rockers Queen has become the first British band to join Queen Elizabeth II on a commemorative coin, the Royal Mint said. So the coins have a Queen on both sides!
The design has a unique surface animation on the piano keys – showcasing the opening chords to the piano medley of their most iconic Queen track – Bohemian Rhapsody.
These coins were released for sale at 9 am on Monday 20th January 2020, with both of the Gold Coins being fully sold out by 7 pm the same day.
YouTube Video Walk Through
Watch our Queen Coins 2020 from The Royal Mint video on YouTube if you prefer to see the different coins in a video.
Limited Edition Presentations
The Queen Coins will be available in Gold Proof, Silver Proof and Brilliant Uncirculated (BUNC) editions.
Brilliant Uncirculated
The regular BUNC coin has an unlimited mintage. See Product Code: UK20Q1BU
- The first time a British band has been showcased on a UK coin
- The perfect gift for all fans of Queen
- Features the first coin design by Royal Mint Product Manager Chris Facey
- Own the first release in this exciting new collection – Music Legends
- Features a design that has been officially approved by Roger Taylor and Brian May
Price on release day: £13 + P&P
BUNC Limited Editions
Three custom slipcases have also been issued for the same BUNC coin in limited editions of 25,000 limited edition presentations each costing £2 extra than the standard BUNC coin (it’s probably a worthwhile extra cost to get the limited edition).
The covers reflect:
- Hot Space (Product code: UK20Q2BU)
- A kind of Magic (Product code: UK20Q3BU)
- Queen Live (Product Code: UK20Q4BU)
Price on release day: £15 + P&P
Queen 2020 Silver Proof Coins
The silver proof coins are available in half and one ounce.
The half-ounce has a limited edition of 17,500 coins with a price on the release day of £60 + P&P whilst the one ounce is an LEP of 7,500 coins with a price on the release day of £90 + P&P.
If you compare this to recent Silver Proof coin releases from the Royal Mint, the coins have usually been in the 25,000 to 60,000 coin mintage range (with no half-ounce option) so this makes this series much rarer.
For example, the 2016 Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit One Ounce Silver Proof coin was a 15,000 coin release and was selling at hundreds of pounds soon after it sold out at the Royal Mint.
It will be interesting to see the after-market prices for these coins once they are no longer available.
| UK20QUHS | Queen 2020 UK Half Ounce Silver Proof Coin |
| UK20QU1S | Queen 2020 UK One Ounce Silver Proof Coin |
Queen 2020 Gold Proof Coins
The quarter-ounce Gold Proof Queen coin has a limited edition presentation of 1,250 coins with a price on the release day of £510 + P&P with the super exclusive One Ounce coin limited to just 300 coins at a price on the release day of £2,020 plus P&P (note the price matches the year of release!?)
| UK20QUQG | Queen 2020 UK Quarter-Ounce Gold Proof Coin |
| UK20QU1G | Queen 2020 UK One Ounce Gold Proof Coin |
2020 Queen Coins Design
The coins feature musical instruments from the band.
- “The Bechstein™ grand piano is the one Freddie played on Bohemian Rhapsody, eagle-eyed super-fans might spot that the piano keys showcase the opening chords to the song.
- Brian May built his Red Special guitar as a teenager and the neck is made from a 200-year-old fireplace.
- Roger Taylor’s Ludwig™ bass drum is decorated with the Queen crest, as it was in the band’s early days, while John Deacon’s Fender Precision Bass™ is the same model he plays in the video for Don’t Stop Me Now.
- The Queen logo is placed in the centre and underscored with Freddie’s signature mic stick.
The bass player who shunned the limelight, the multi-instrumentalist on drums, the guitar virtuoso brandishing a sixpence and the piano playing lead singer with an extraordinary vocal range.
Together you have all of the component parts that gave the band their special dynamic.
If like us you are a Queen music fan then no doubt owning one of these coins will bring you great memories of the band and their music.
Queen at Live Aid in 1985
Rest In Peace, Freddie Mercury, your songs with live-on forever!
Brian May Offical Queen 2020 Coin Release
