guy Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 (edited) Although I am not a coin-collector, I am always interested in the messages coins attempt to convey, whether it is one of national culture and mythology or one of official government propaganda. When looking at my daughter Edited February 12, 2011 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 The concept of Britannia, nevertheless, has existed on British coinage for nearly two millennia. You mean had existed. It finally disappeared with the latest incarnation of the 50p. Bring it back - that's what I say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted February 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) You mean had existed. It finally disappeared with the latest incarnation of the 50p. Bring it back - that's what I say! Thank you for reading my post and responding. Being neither a coin-expert nor British, I might be wrong on this one...but that never stopped me from commenting before. You are correct that the image of Britannia is no longer used on coins meant for circulation. I, too, miss the classic image of Britannia on British coins. The more modern image of Britannia is still used on bullion coins, however. These are coins are collected for their precious metal content (gold or silver, for example) and are not meant for general circulation. I admit that I'm slowly warming up to the more modern version of Britannia. See the coins above and the last three coins from my initial post. Here is an interesting article on the subject: http://www.coinlink.com/News/world-coins/royal-mint-unveils-new-britannia-coin-design/ *The image of Britannia is closely associated with British coinage (and used on the reverse of the circulating 50p coin until 2008). The Britannia Silver Bullion Coin was introduced in 1997. *Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a symbol of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the first century BC Britannia came to be used for Great Britain specifically. *In the second century, Roman Britannia came to be portrayed as a goddess, armed with a spear and shield and wearing a centurion Edited March 13, 2011 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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