By Andrew Pierce for Telegraph.co.uk

The Queen’s coat of arms is at the heart of the biggest changes to the British currency in 40 years which the Royal Mint will unveil tomorrow.

The designs for the reverse of the coins, from the one pence piece to the pound, have been a closely guarded secret.

But the Telegraph has learnt that the new pound coin features the traditional shield design from the Royal coat of arms.

The lower-denomination coins will feature close-up details of the shield which, when fitted together, show the shield as a whole.

The sovereign’s coat of arms has evolved over many years and reflects the history of the monarchy and country.

In the design the shield shows the Royal emblems of different parts of the United Kingdom: the three lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the lion of Scotland in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. Read Full Article in the Telegraph

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the decimal £1 coin, the Royal Mint has struck a superb set of 14 coins in a magnificent new collection. These beautiful coins are struck in 22 carat gold to incomparable Proof quality. ( The set is also available in a Silver Proof Collection)

Each coin in the collection features a different reverse design used on the £1 coin over the last quarter of a century. In all there are five different artists of the modern £1 coin and 14 different designs. The designers include Eric Sewell, Derek Gorringe, Leslie Durbin, Norman Sillman and Edwina Ellis. Two of the designs represent the United Kingdom with the Royal Arms and the Royal Shield, and the three regional sets of four – the Floral Series, the Heraldic Series and the Bridge Series represent the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom.

Background & History

On 28 October 1489 Henry VII instructed the officers of the Mint in the Tower to strike a new gold coin.

The pound sterling had been a unit of account for centuries but this new gold coin, given a face value of 20 shillings, was effectively the first pound coin. It was spectacular – the largest gold coin yet issued in England and arguably the most beautiful. Bearing elaborate yet commanding designs and named a sovereign, it was deliberately intended as a statement of the power and dignity of the new Tudor dynasty and was duly struck in turn by each of the Tudor monarchs. (more…)

What I most remember about my father designing the decimal coins in 1962 was the secrecy surrounding it all.

As an artist – he was a painter and taught life-drawing at the Royal College of Art – he’d been chosen as one of many designers to submit designs to a Royal Mint Committee, but decimalisation had not been announced and it was essential that no one knew anything about it.

And when his designs were finally chosen, we lived a kind of cloak-and-dagger life. The coins were first designed on paper, and then worked in reverse into large deep circles of plaster.

They would then be cast back to positive and my father would work on them, and then cast them back to negative and so on. Read Full Article

The image of Britannia, which has graced British coins for centuries, is to be removed from the 50 pence piece as part of a redesign by the Royal Mint.

The overhaul of all coinage in April is set to be the biggest change to British currency since the introduction of decimalisation more than 35 years ago.

Gordon Brown personally approved the change as one of his last acts as Chancellor of the Exchequer, despite his current campaign to push Britishness. The Queen is also said to be supportive of the scheme.

It will be the first time in more than 300 years that Britannia is not featured on a British coin. Read Full Story