By RHODRI PHILLIPS and SIMON MCGEE - Daily Mail UK: Britannia could return to the nation’s coins, a senior adviser to the Royal Mint has said. The ancient symbol was missing when the first new set of British coins for nearly 40 years was unveiled last week.

However, John Porteous, of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee on Coin Design, said she could appear on the £2 coin when it is next redesigned.

The £2 was the only one of Britain’s eight circulating coins not to have undergone a redesign in the revamp. But a new £2 coin is likely to be issued with a new design within the next two years, according to Mr Porteous.

When he was confronted by The Mail on Sunday’s Britannia on his doorstep last week, the coin expert invited her in for a coffee and discussed her future.

“I’m absolutely sure you won’t be made redundant,” he told her.

We revealed in January that Britannia would not appear on any new British coins for the first time in 336 years. (She does feature on a silver bullion £2 coin struck by the Mint, but this is a collector’s item and is not in circulation.) Read Full Story from the Daily Mail

The Biggest Coin Event in British History Since Decimalisation

The coinage of the United Kingdom is changing. Familiar designs that have served us well for almost 40 years will be replaced by a new set of designs, contemporary in treatment yet grounded in the traditions of the coinage. Now, in a new age, the time has come to rejuvenate the coinage by seeking designs that treat traditional symbols in an innovative and modern way. The series that has been chosen brings new life to the coinage and, like the decimal designs 40 years ago, draws inspiration from the very fabric of British history.

The reverse side of the £1 coin will also show the complete Shield of the Royal Arms, with the front of the coins continuing to bear the existing portrait of Her Majesty The Queen. The £2 coin will remain unchanged.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Angela Eagle MP said: “The response to the public competition for new coin designs was overwhelming, and my congratulations go to Matthew Dent, whose innovative designs were chosen from over 4000 entries. His designs, which interpret the traditional theme of heraldry in a contemporary way, will be seen and used by millions of people across the United Kingdom.”

The new designs for all UK coins were chosen via an open competition which was widely publicised in the national media in August 2005 and attracted 4,000 entries. The winning designer is 26-year-old Matthew Dent, originally from Bangor who now lives and works in London as a graphic designer. (more…)

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

A rare and important collection of English gold ‘pattern’ coins last seen on the market in 1904 is due to go under the hammer in Plymouth.

The 44 coins had been locked in a vault until recently when their Plymouth owner - a descendant of Evan Roberts who bought them 104 years ago - decided to sell them.

Auctioneer Paul Keen, of Plymouth Auction Rooms, said he expected the coins to sell for thousands of pounds.

“In 1904 a Mr Evan Roberts purchased various rare gold coins from the Sotheby’s major four-day auction of the collection of Mr J G Murdoch, at the time the coins were selling for between £4 and £9. They’re now worth thousands. Mr Roberts was an important collector of pocket watches at the time. In fact, his collection was given to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where curators produced a special book just for his collection.

A pattern is a coin designed and proposed for use as regular currency. Apart from genuine trial pieces there were various non-issue pattern coins produced privately which gave full rein to the engraver’s skills.

These coins were made in silver, copper, bronze and gold.

A total of 44 high-quality gold coins are on offer including a rare George III pattern twopence by William J Taylor. It was made in 1805, weighs 62 grams and its value is estimated at £3,000 to £5,000. (more…)

A rare silver coin that the Jews used to pay the half-shekel head tax to the Temple has been discovered in what was the main drainage channel of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period - a phase in Jewish history that extends from the return of the first of the exiles in 539 BCE following the declaration of Cyrus, or with the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 516 BCE, until the Temples destruction in 70 CE.

The ancient silver coin was discovered in an archaeological excavation in the City of David, just below and east of Jerusalems Old City.

The foreign coin is of the denomination used during the turbulent Second Temple period to pay the Biblical half-shekel head-tax.

The excavations, directed by Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, are being conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David Foundation.

The silver coin is a shekel denomination. In the Bible, Jews are commanded to contribute half a shekel each for maintaining the Temple in Jerusalem. The collection began every year on the first day of the month of Adar when the heralding of the shekelim took place, and it ended on the first day of the month of Nissan, the beginning of the new fiscal year for the Temple, when the purchase of public sacrifices was renewed. (more…)