This is a "historic" set issued by the Royal Mint to celebrate 350 years of Britannia on UK coins, containing two new coins and seven historic coins (circulated), each featuring a rendition of Britannia, the female personification of Britain.
The Mint says about it:
"Since she appeared on copper coins issued during the reign of Charles II, Britannia has become the quintessential symbol of a nation. Synonymous with British coins, the icon appeared on the penny for centuries and on other coins too, including the fourpence issued during the reign of William IV and the Edwardian florin. For 350 years, the great engravers and designers of each age have reimagined Britannia and some of these interpretations now appear together as part of a beautiful, nine-coin set. Britannia first appeared as the personification of the British Isles on a coin struck in Rome in the years before the Roman Emperor Hadrian visited Britain. Revived during the reign of Elizabeth 1, when the icon’s association with the sea began, the Stuart monarchs also used Britannia’s image to bolster their claims to be masters of the oceans. Now the face of modern bullion and reintroduced on UK circulating coins in 2015, Britannia endures as a cultural icon that unites and inspires in times of crisis and celebration."
Apart from the two modern coins, the set contains:
- a large Britannia 50 pence, 1968-1982
- a Britannia florin, 1902-1910
- a Britannia pre-decimal penny, Queen Victoria, 1893-1901
- a Britannia pre-decimal penny, King George VI, 1937-1948
- a silver fourpence ("groat"), issued between 1836 and 1888
- a 1797 "Cartwheel" Twopence
- a Halfpenny, issued 1775 or earlier |
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