New coins in the UK

Shamelessly robbed from p.ie though I saw these coins last night on Paxman and then made a feeble attempt at googling for them - I think they look really cool

YesSireeeBob wrote:

Should we be bothered by this?

Of course it was Henry viiii who first used the harp on "irish" coins in 1536.
http://www.irishcoinage.com/J00050.HTM

The harp is from the British royal coat of arms and it's even got some shamrock in there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom

I think the British should remove all symbols of Ireland.

It's only a symbol and only the Irish are bothered by such things;
so the British shouldn't be too bothered removing them.

I suppose the situation in the north makes these things harder.

Would the unionists really make noise about an Irish symbol?






http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/02/ncoin102.xml

Quote :

The Royal Mint has unveiled the biggest changes to Britain's coinage in 40 years to a chorus of disapproval.


Historians, designers, and MPs have criticised the changes which show elements of the Queen's coat of arms on the reverse of seven coins from the penny to the pound.

Royal Mint unveils new coin designs
In pictures: The designs which will feature on the reverse of seven British coins

The six designs on the 1p through to the 50p coins can be pieced together to form a complete image of the royal coat of arms.

The €1.26 (£1) coin features the complete Royal shield. The design, chosen after a nationwide competition, is designed to underline the Government's commitment to the Union.

The shield in the design features 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.

There is no Welsh dragon. But the most contentious change has been to remove Britannia from British coins for the first time in three centuries.

Stephen Bayley, the founder of the Design Museum with Sir Terence Conran, was not impressed.

He said: "It seems a tad elegiac that 'supporters of the Union', whoever they might be, are now required laboriously to re-assemble their identity from a coinage as fragmented as it is devalued. And did I miss the Welsh dragon?
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"Britannia has disappeared (after a debut in 1672) but I'm not sure she ever attracted much loyalty as a symbol, unlike Madeleine in France. Paris recently chose a supermodel as a source for its matron saint. I suppose Kate Moss would excite momentary interest before coins disappear entirely.

"Otherwise, what other iconography would capture the mood of contemporary Britain? Probably a no frills airliner zooming off to the horizons. That or an Indian Land-Rover."

Britannia first appeared as a goddess almost 2,000 years ago when the Romans created her as a personification of the British Isles. She was on a Roman coin during the rule of Emperor Hadrian but her first appearance on a British coin came during the reign of Charles II on the copper farthing.

Andrew Roberts, the historian, said: "It is a very sad day for the Union. These new designs have replaced Britannia, who has been a patriotic symbol of the British Isles since ancient Rome."

David Davies, a Tory MP on the Commons Welsh select committee, said: "As a proud British subject, monarchist, and Welshman I am disgusted that there is no proper representation of the Principality, especially as the coins are produced in Wales. This is another attempt to undermine the Union."

The new coins will come into circulation this summer, replacing the old coins with familiar designs such as the penny's portcullis and chains. It is the first change to the country's coinage since decimalisation was introduced in April 1968.

The winning design by Matthew Dent, 26, from Bangor, was chosen from more than 4,000 entries. Mr Dent said: "I felt it was important to have a theme running through from one to another.

"I can imagine people playing with them, having them on a tabletop and enjoying them. I would love it if the coins are played with by everyone from kids at school to folks in a pub."

Andrew Stafford, the chief executive of the Royal Mint, said: "It's the only work of art that every member of the general public touches every day, that is important to the nation's way of life.

"We had to make sure that the coin design was true to the heritage of British coins and gave fresh inspiration and modernity to something that has been in existence for 40 years."

Is this a profoundly significant indication of the social disintegration of the "United Kingdom" or is it just a jigsaw puzzle?

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I like that the British are most worried about the removal of Britannia, that mannish woman in the toga from the punch cartoons:

That's Hibernia beside her, guess who the simian peasants are? And why does she remind me of John Cleese?

I happen to think those coins are smashing. I love the connecting theme. I don't really give a hoot about the symbolisms.

I am disturbed by deconstructivism, even in such a relative dilute form. Squashed and fady shamrocks, wobbly disintegrating harps (did you see the new Dail logos) are unsettling. But perhaps you are right and the advantage of a coinage that can be used as a bar game (updating shove'appeny) is a very good thing.

cactus flower wrote:

I am disturbed by deconstructivism, even in such a relative dilute form. Squashed and fady shamrocks, wobbly disintegrating harps (did you see the new Dail logos) are unsettling. But perhaps you are right and the advantage of a coinage that can be used as a bar game (updating shove'appeny) is a very good thing.

I know what you mean, though haven't seen the new Dáil logo yet. Aer Lingus squished the shamrock back in the 90's, and lots of stuff has been butchered since for no apparent reason other than to 'modernise ??'

5 or 6 years ago, the coolest company logo was a bunch of coulourd blobs and/or swirls.

I think the coins above have retained a classical appearance.