Obverse (Image: Queen Elizabeth II)
Reverse (Image: Britannia)
To celebrate the royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince Williams, I decided to post one of my English coins. England has a long history of minting coins, with the first mint established in AD 287. Coins have been continuously minted for over 1,100 years, with the London Mint (now Royal Mint) established in AD 886. The English monetary system used to consist of farthings, shillings, florins, sovereigns and guineas, making it very confusing for anyone who wasn't English. The government decimalized the monetary system in 1971 and introduced new pence coins (100 new pence = 1 pound).
The seven-sided 50 pence coin, like all English coins, features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse as required by law. The reverse features Britannia, the female personification of England and ancient term for Great Britain. Coins from as early as AD 138 have been found with Britannia depicted on them. More information on the origins of Britannia can be found here.
There's also a piece "Rule, Britannia" which I'm including here for any interested in the music: Rule Britannia.
No comments:
Post a Comment