Tracing its history to the tumultuous era leading to the War of the Roses, the White Lion of Mortimer is one of ten ancestral beasts presented as statues for Her Majesty The Queen's coronation in 1953. The beast traces to The Queen through her ancestor, Edward IV. An imposing individual – he is said to have been 6 feet 4 inches tall which was quite rare in the Middle Ages – he was a clever military tactician but seems to have struggled at times with the politics of royal court.

Coin designer Jody Clark has offered a fresh take on this particular beast as part of The Queen's Beasts Collection. This 2020 coin is the seventh in the series, which began in 2017, and this edition has been finished to the highest standard. The coin is struck in 999.9 fine gold and features not only Jody Clark’s White Lion of Mortimer design on the reverse but also his official coinage portrait of The Queen on the obverse.