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