BRITANNIA ON BRITISH AND OTHER COINS

People familiar with British coins will instantly recognize the figure of Britannia, the spirit of Britain personified. Britannia suggests the might of the British navy and skill of its soldiers. The seated lady holding a shield and trident or spear has been a feature of British coins since the days of the Roman conquest. More than a thousand years later, it turned up as Britannia on a coin of Charles 11 of England. Two centuries later, the figure, slightly altered also appeared on the liberty seated dimes of the United States and other coins.

She first appeared on the coins of the Roman emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, the man responsible for the building of Hadrian’s wall and the Antonine wall in Britain. These were issued to celebrate the building of the walls. In fact, Britannia’s pedigree goes even further back, to the image of the goddess Athene on the reverse o Lysimachus’ Alexander the Great coin. The pattern for the first Britannia on a British coin, designed in 1665, had the motto Quattuor Maria Vindico ("I claim the four seas" ). But in 1667 before the coin had been struck, the Dutch won a resounding naval victory from the English. The proud claim disappeared from the coin.

Britannia reappeared in 1672 on the halfpenny and farthing of Charles 11. The figure was modernized when the king’s friend Frances Stewart acted as a model for the legendary figure. During the reign of George 1V in 1825 a new type of Britannia was approved.

Today Britannia on British coins

Cartwheel 2 pence of 1797

wears a helmet and faces right. She does not "always rule the waves" as she does in the famous song "Rule Britannia." On some coins, a lighthouse and ship appear in the background and on other, the background of a ship and waves has been deleted. Sometimes she holds an olive branch, the familiar emblem of peace. On some coins you can see a beehive and horn of plenty, denoting industriousness and plenty.