Sells regularly: 12 verified sales in the last 12 months.
5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion (2026)
"Queen's Lion £5"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2026 |
| Denomination | 5 Pounds |
| Face value | £5 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 28.280g |
| Diameter | 38.6mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Martin Jennings |
| Rev. artist | David Lawrence |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King Charles III left, legend and date around.
· CHARLES III · D · G · REX · F · D · 5 POUNDS ·
A depiction of the Queen's Lion with a shield bears a fort, a crowned hawthorn and a golden phoenix atop a mount, legend around, date below.
· QUEEN'S LION ·
5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion market value
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Affiliate5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion price history
Daily limit reached5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BU | £13.05 🔒 eBay | £15.04 | – | £10.80 – £22.02 | 8 | 8 | 10-10-2026 | |
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| VF | £12.53 🔒 eBay | £21.50 | – | £12.53 – £69.32 | 3 | 3 | 17-10-2026 | |
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| MS-69 | £57.92 🔒 eBay | £57.92 (1) | – | £57.92 – £57.92 | 1 | 1 | 15-06-2026 | |
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About the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion
The 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion is a collector 5 pounds coin, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 28.28g and measures 38.61mm across. Reverse design: A depiction of the Queen's Lion with a shield bears a fort, a crowned hawthorn and a golden phoenix atop a mount, legend around, date below.
Common questions
How much is the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion worth?
Verified sold prices for the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion run from £15.04 to £57.92 across 3 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
What is the Queen's Lion on the £5 coin?
It is one of the ten stone beasts on the Moat Bridge at Hampton Court Palace, which represent the lineage of Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour. The Royal Mint says the Queen's Lion was chosen by Henry VIII to represent and legitimise his claim to the English throne.
Who designed the Queen's Lion £5?
David Lawrence, the illustrator and sculptor whose work features on all ten coins in the Royal Tudor Beasts Collection. He draws entirely by hand. The portrait of King Charles III on the obverse is by Martin Jennings.
How many Queen's Lion £5 coins were made?
The Royal Mint has not published a struck or sold figure for the 2026 Queen's Lion £5, and its Brilliant Uncirculated product page states no issue limit. The Mint's commemorative coin sales pages currently stop at coins dated 2023.
Is the Queen's Lion £5 legal tender?
Yes. The royal proclamation that authorised it makes it legal tender for any amount. The Royal Mint says crowns are souvenirs rather than coins for everyday use, that banks are not required to accept them, and that main Post Office branches will exchange them for goods or services.
How do I identify the 2026 5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion?
Check the weight 28.28g and diameter 38.61mm and the metal (copper-nickel) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
Ten stone beasts line the Moat Bridge of Hampton Court Palace, representing the lineage of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. The Royal Mint's Royal Tudor Beasts Collection puts each of them on a £5 crown, made with Historic Royal Palaces, and the Queen's Lion is one of the two beasts on 2026-dated crowns in the Mint's list of £5 designs, alongside the Royal Dragon. The Mint says Henry VIII chose the Queen's Lion to represent and legitimise his claim to the English throne, and calls it one of the oldest and most recognisable symbols in British heraldry.
The bridge was completed in 1536 during the king's marriage to Jane Seymour, though work began while he was married to Anne Boleyn. When William III and Mary II remodelled the palace in the seventeenth century, the beasts were thrown down to help fill the moat and lay buried for over 150 years. Reclamation of the bridge began in 1909. Only fragments of the beasts survived, so new statues were designed by the Reverend E. E. Dorling and modelled by George Wilson. Those did not weather well, and the replicas guarding the palace today were made in the 1950s.
The reverse is by David Lawrence, the illustrator and sculptor whose work appears on all ten coins in the collection. The Royal Mint says he took his inspiration from the statues but chose not to copy them, balancing heraldic style with the energy of the animals and keeping the shields unchanged apart from the perspective. He works entirely by hand. The proclamation describes a depiction of the Queen's Lion with the inscription QUEEN'S LION and the date of the year.
The obverse carries Martin Jennings's portrait of King Charles III with the inscription CHARLES III D G REX F D 5 POUNDS. The edge is milled.
Collecting notes
No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.
The Brilliant Uncirculated coin comes with packaging that explains the heraldry of Henry VIII. The Royal Mint has published no struck or sold figure for it and gives no issue limit. A silver proof shares the design.
Earlier beasts in the same format include the Queen's Panther £5 and the Greyhound of Richmond £5. The Mint has closed the collection with a 2027 coin showing all ten beasts together.
The coin is legal tender, but the Royal Mint describes crowns as souvenirs and says banks are not required to accept them.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- £5 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- The Royal Tudor Beasts The Queen's Lion 2026 UK £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and designs for a new series of five hundred pound, two hundred pound, one hundred pound, twenty-five pound and fifty pence gold coins; standard silver coins; silver piedfort coins; and five pound cupro-nickel coins (notice 4874357, 9 May 2025), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Story of The Royal Tudor Beasts, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Commemorative Coin Striking Numbers, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Queen's Lion Competition, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
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