Jump to content
UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums
Sign in to follow this  
guy

Britannia: Then and now

Recommended Posts

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

post-3665-056629600 1297527568_thumb.jpg

post-3665-023072800 1297527638_thumb.jpg

post-3665-011421200 1297527655_thumb.jpg

post-3665-088544100 1297527672_thumb.jpg

post-3665-079034500 1297527693_thumb.jpg

post-3665-044077900 1297527715_thumb.jpg

post-3665-024048400 1297529852_thumb.jpg

post-3665-024931100 1297537964_thumb.jpg

Edited by guy

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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. :lol:

 

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.

 

post-3665-092282200 1297612589_thumb.jpg

post-3665-063137900 1297612377_thumb.jpg

 

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 by guy

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Map of the Roman Empire

×