Britannia has appeared on British coins since 1672, during the reign of Charles II, when she was put onto the copper farthing.
But this year, the Government will take off Britannia from the 50 pence coin to replace her with something else. All the other traditional designs on British coins are also being fazed out - the portcullis and chain on the 1p, the a plume of ostrich feathers and a coronet on the 2p, a thistle with a crown on the 5p, a lion wearing a crown on the 10p, a rose with a crown on the 20p and Britannia on the 50p. Only the £1 coin and £2 coins have had regularly changing designs.
So now the Daily Mail has launched a campaign to save the traditional designs on Britain's coins, and already has support from people across the world - people from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain and Thailand have sent letters of support to the Daily Mail.
In 2000, the Daily Mail successfully saved the Royal Crest on British passports being replaced by bland ones featuring the EU flag.
And in 2001 it successfully blocked a Government plan to put the EU flag on car number plates.
We have 30,000 reasons to keep Britannia on our 50p coin!
By SIMON McGEE and RHODRI PHILLIPS
3rd February 2008
Daily Mail
Reporter Simon McGee and our Britannia model deliver some of the 30,000 protests to No 10
What we want to save: Britannia on the back of a 50 pence coin
Gordon Brown was under massive pressure last night to reverse his decision to remove Britannia from the country's coins.
More than 30,000 Mail on Sunday readers and dozens of MPs have joined our campaign to save the centuries-old symbol of Britishness.
We have received letters, emails and other messages from all corners of the UK, as well as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, France and Spain.
Yesterday, accompanied by our own "Britannia," we delivered thousands of them to Downing Street so that Mr Brown could see for himself the strength of feeling his decision has generated.
Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed how Britannia – currently on the 50p – will no longer appear on any new coin for the first time in 336 years. The move was personally approved by Mr Brown when he was Chancellor.
In what the Royal Mint is calling the largest shake-up of coinage since decimalisation in 1971, long-standing designs such as the chained portcullis and crowned lion will be replaced by "modern representations of Britain." A new-look Britannia will not be among them.
The fate of Britannia has struck a chord with people of all ages and from all walks of life, dismayed at losing such a potent British symbol.
In a personal message to the Prime Minister, reader Brian Titmarsh asked simply: "Dear Mr Brown. Please ask before you give our identity away. Many thanks, Brian."
Serving member of the Armed Forces Matthew Watts pointed out: "Little things like Britannia keep us going."
The fate of Britannia has struck a chord with people of all ages and from all walks of life as this mail next to the beautiful Britannia show
Beryl Compton said: "What right has a PM no one elected to spend our money to remove Britannia from our coins? If there is money to spare, pay our police a proper salary."
Reader Mrs S Nelder added: "To me, Britannia reflects stability in war and peace, and is a symbol of tolerance, fairness and shared history. Why must we change everything?"
An official demand was issued on the floor of the House of Commons for the Prime Minister to appear before MPs to explain his decision and outside the chamber a motion was tabled calling for Britannia to be saved.
Leader of the House Harriet Harman, also Labour's deputy leader, was asked by her Conservative counterpart Theresa May: "Will the Prime Minister make a statement on how removing a historic British symbol fits into his Britishness campaign?"
Unwilling to broach the embarrassing subject, Ms Harman slipped out of giving an answer.
The motion has already gathered the support of 47 MPs across five political parties, including five Conservative shadow ministers.
Tory MP Nigel Evans, who tabled the motion after reading The Mail on Sunday, urged readers to lobby their own MPs to support the motion.
"We've got a Prime Minister who's wrapping himself in the Union flag while quietly junking our history. It's madness," he said.
"If he wants to make a real public display of Britishness, what better way than by thinking again and making the right decision? We want more MPs to put their names to the motion.
Readers of The Mail on Sunday could do a lot to help by asking their own MP to sign up."
This year, if the Daily Mail campaign fails, the traditional designs on the backs of British coins are to be replaced: this picture shows the front and back of each British coin - (from top to bottom) £2 (cogs and pattern representing technological development) , £1 (Three Lions), 50p (Britannia, her shield, trident and lion), 20p (crowned Tudor rose), 10p (crowned lion), 5p (crowned thistle), 2p (ostrich feathers - representing Prince of Wales - with a coronet), and 1p (portcullis and chain). Only the designs of £1 coin and £2 coin have changed regularly over the years
Taking a shot at his own party leader, Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle said: "We should not abandon a tradition which has spanned three centuries.
The Government should appreciate the modern importance of historic symbols and ensure that Britannia is not removed from British coins."
Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey said: "Ripping up 300 years of British history is simply not acceptable. I can't understand why he's doing it and I find it quite depressing. Hasn't he got anything better to do?"
However, Downing Street and the Royal Mint both insisted last night that the design overhaul of seven coins, from the 1p to the £1 coin, would go ahead as planned.
Downing Street said Mr Brown had not changed his mind since last week's revelations. The Royal Mint was at pains to stress existing Britannia 50p pieces would remain in circulation and that she would return "in the future."
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 in 1672.
Between 1797 and decimalisation in 1970 she was on the penny coin.
The Britannia for the 50p was designed in the Sixties by artist Charles Ironside – father of agony aunt Virginia Ironside. His second wife Jean inspired him by spending hours posing in their living room clutching a ruler instead of a trident.
She said: "It was an incredible honour to pose as Britannia. Britannia and the designs meant everything to Christopher. When you do a job like that you become part of the history of the country."
The campaign to save Britannia is set to become one of the most popular causes in The Mail on Sunday's history.
In 2000, we saved the Royal Crest on passports from being replaced by the European flag.
And in 2001 our campaign to stop motorists having to display the European flag on number plates forced the Government to back down.
You can still join our campaign to save Britannia – see the coupon below.
dailymail.co.uk
But this year, the Government will take off Britannia from the 50 pence coin to replace her with something else. All the other traditional designs on British coins are also being fazed out - the portcullis and chain on the 1p, the a plume of ostrich feathers and a coronet on the 2p, a thistle with a crown on the 5p, a lion wearing a crown on the 10p, a rose with a crown on the 20p and Britannia on the 50p. Only the £1 coin and £2 coins have had regularly changing designs.
So now the Daily Mail has launched a campaign to save the traditional designs on Britain's coins, and already has support from people across the world - people from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain and Thailand have sent letters of support to the Daily Mail.
In 2000, the Daily Mail successfully saved the Royal Crest on British passports being replaced by bland ones featuring the EU flag.
And in 2001 it successfully blocked a Government plan to put the EU flag on car number plates.
We have 30,000 reasons to keep Britannia on our 50p coin!
By SIMON McGEE and RHODRI PHILLIPS
3rd February 2008
Daily Mail
Reporter Simon McGee and our Britannia model deliver some of the 30,000 protests to No 10
What we want to save: Britannia on the back of a 50 pence coin
Gordon Brown was under massive pressure last night to reverse his decision to remove Britannia from the country's coins.
More than 30,000 Mail on Sunday readers and dozens of MPs have joined our campaign to save the centuries-old symbol of Britishness.
We have received letters, emails and other messages from all corners of the UK, as well as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, France and Spain.
Yesterday, accompanied by our own "Britannia," we delivered thousands of them to Downing Street so that Mr Brown could see for himself the strength of feeling his decision has generated.
Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed how Britannia – currently on the 50p – will no longer appear on any new coin for the first time in 336 years. The move was personally approved by Mr Brown when he was Chancellor.
In what the Royal Mint is calling the largest shake-up of coinage since decimalisation in 1971, long-standing designs such as the chained portcullis and crowned lion will be replaced by "modern representations of Britain." A new-look Britannia will not be among them.
The fate of Britannia has struck a chord with people of all ages and from all walks of life, dismayed at losing such a potent British symbol.
In a personal message to the Prime Minister, reader Brian Titmarsh asked simply: "Dear Mr Brown. Please ask before you give our identity away. Many thanks, Brian."
Serving member of the Armed Forces Matthew Watts pointed out: "Little things like Britannia keep us going."
The fate of Britannia has struck a chord with people of all ages and from all walks of life as this mail next to the beautiful Britannia show
Beryl Compton said: "What right has a PM no one elected to spend our money to remove Britannia from our coins? If there is money to spare, pay our police a proper salary."
Reader Mrs S Nelder added: "To me, Britannia reflects stability in war and peace, and is a symbol of tolerance, fairness and shared history. Why must we change everything?"
An official demand was issued on the floor of the House of Commons for the Prime Minister to appear before MPs to explain his decision and outside the chamber a motion was tabled calling for Britannia to be saved.
Leader of the House Harriet Harman, also Labour's deputy leader, was asked by her Conservative counterpart Theresa May: "Will the Prime Minister make a statement on how removing a historic British symbol fits into his Britishness campaign?"
Unwilling to broach the embarrassing subject, Ms Harman slipped out of giving an answer.
The motion has already gathered the support of 47 MPs across five political parties, including five Conservative shadow ministers.
Tory MP Nigel Evans, who tabled the motion after reading The Mail on Sunday, urged readers to lobby their own MPs to support the motion.
"We've got a Prime Minister who's wrapping himself in the Union flag while quietly junking our history. It's madness," he said.
"If he wants to make a real public display of Britishness, what better way than by thinking again and making the right decision? We want more MPs to put their names to the motion.
Readers of The Mail on Sunday could do a lot to help by asking their own MP to sign up."
This year, if the Daily Mail campaign fails, the traditional designs on the backs of British coins are to be replaced: this picture shows the front and back of each British coin - (from top to bottom) £2 (cogs and pattern representing technological development) , £1 (Three Lions), 50p (Britannia, her shield, trident and lion), 20p (crowned Tudor rose), 10p (crowned lion), 5p (crowned thistle), 2p (ostrich feathers - representing Prince of Wales - with a coronet), and 1p (portcullis and chain). Only the designs of £1 coin and £2 coin have changed regularly over the years
Taking a shot at his own party leader, Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle said: "We should not abandon a tradition which has spanned three centuries.
The Government should appreciate the modern importance of historic symbols and ensure that Britannia is not removed from British coins."
Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey said: "Ripping up 300 years of British history is simply not acceptable. I can't understand why he's doing it and I find it quite depressing. Hasn't he got anything better to do?"
However, Downing Street and the Royal Mint both insisted last night that the design overhaul of seven coins, from the 1p to the £1 coin, would go ahead as planned.
Downing Street said Mr Brown had not changed his mind since last week's revelations. The Royal Mint was at pains to stress existing Britannia 50p pieces would remain in circulation and that she would return "in the future."
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 in 1672.
Between 1797 and decimalisation in 1970 she was on the penny coin.
The Britannia for the 50p was designed in the Sixties by artist Charles Ironside – father of agony aunt Virginia Ironside. His second wife Jean inspired him by spending hours posing in their living room clutching a ruler instead of a trident.
She said: "It was an incredible honour to pose as Britannia. Britannia and the designs meant everything to Christopher. When you do a job like that you become part of the history of the country."
The campaign to save Britannia is set to become one of the most popular causes in The Mail on Sunday's history.
In 2000, we saved the Royal Crest on passports from being replaced by the European flag.
And in 2001 our campaign to stop motorists having to display the European flag on number plates forced the Government to back down.
You can still join our campaign to save Britannia – see the coupon below.
dailymail.co.uk
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