British coins use of the ‘Britannia’ figure

Britannia has been associated with the British Isles since the Romans, and representations of this mythological figure have been used on British coins for almost as long. Britannia as a rallying national figure rose to particular prominence following the Act of Union with Scotland and then later as an emblem of Empire.

Due to the sequentail nature of the revision of the country’s coinage, a series of numismatic decisions means that there is likely to be a period when there is no Britannia on newly minted coins. The Note describes the country’s association with Britannia and its coinage.