The Royal Mint announced months ago that there would soon be a major redesign of the coinage, and that no coins would bear the image of Britannia. Cue much outrage, at least among readers of the Daily Telegraph. (Not only about the loss of Britannia, but also remembering the redesign of the sovereign a couple of years ago, making St George and the Dragon look more like a nursery hobbyhorse.)
Now that the new designs have been revealed, there's been a little calming down. The extremely modern design is still quite a shock. There have been the expected lines about "an appropriate symbol for a fractured country" and "a government plot to make the euro look more appealing". A columnist has voiced fears that the coins will be too unbalanced in weight to work in vending machines, though I suspect this is more wishful thinking than actual risk. The Welsh are complaining that they don't have any representation, since they don't have any symbolism in the royal arms.
I personally am in two minds about it. As a piece of design, it's fantastic. But as a drastic tinkering with the design of the nation's coinage, I'm not so happy. (And yes, I read the Telegraph.)
The Royal Mint announced months ago that there would soon be a major redesign of the coinage, and that no coins would bear the image of Britannia. Cue much outrage, at least among readers of the Daily Telegraph. (Not only about the loss of Britannia, but also remembering the redesign of the sovereign a couple of years ago, making St George and the Dragon look more like a nursery hobbyhorse.)
Now that the new designs have been revealed, there's been a little calming down. The extremely modern design is still quite a shock. There have been the expected lines about "an appropriate symbol for a fractured country" and "a government plot to make the euro look more appealing". A columnist has voiced fears that the coins will be too unbalanced in weight to work in vending machines, though I suspect this is more wishful thinking than actual risk. The Welsh are complaining that they don't have any representation, since they don't have any symbolism in the royal arms.
I personally am in two minds about it. As a piece of design, it's fantastic. But as a drastic tinkering with the design of the nation's coinage, I'm not so happy. (And yes, I read the Telegraph.)
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