65) The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom: Great British 2012 coin set (Uncirculated) issued by Royal Mint, U.K.:

65)  The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom:

Great British 2012 coin set (Uncirculated) issued by Royal Mint, U.K.:

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom:

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom is the official Coat of arms of the British Monarch, presently Queen Elizabeth II and are also known as her Arms of Dominion.

Some salient features and uses of the Coat-of Arms:

Ø  The basic design of the Royal Coat of Arms is used on their Coat of Arms by other members of the Royal Family with variations and also by the British Government in the administration and governance of the country. The Royal Coat of Arms also, it figures on all UK passports.

Ø  According to legend, the unicorn was considered to be a very dangerous beast, hence, it is shown as chained in the Heraldic colours.

Ø  The coat features both the motto of the English monarchs “Dieu et mon droit” (God and my right) and the motto of the Order of the Garter “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (Shame be he who thinks ill of it on a representation of the Garter behind the shield (for Scotland the Collar of the Order of the Thistle). 

Ø  Since 1603, when the “Union of the Crowns” of the British Isles took place, a separate version of the Royal Arms has been used in Scotland, giving the Scottish elements the pride of place in these Arms. Accordingly, in Scotland, the Queen has a separate version of the Royal arms, which is also used by the Scotland Office. The Royal Coat of Arms in Scotland bears the legend “NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT” (No one dares touch/wound me with impunity) and on top is mentioned “IN DEFENS” (God Me Defend).

Ø  The Royal Arms have regularly appeared on coinage produced by the Royal Mint U.K. from 1663 on the Guinea and from 1983 on the British one pound coins.  Since 2008, a new series of designs exhibit the Royal shield from the Royal coat of arms on all one pound coins (full Royal shield) and on the six smaller denomination coins (parts of the Royal shield) .

The official blazon of the Royal Arms is:

Quarterly (meaning out of the four parts), first and fourth Gules, three Lions passant Gardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure (for England), second quarter Or a Lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland), third quarter Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), the whole surrounded by the Garter; for a Crest, upon the Royal helm the Imperial crown Proper, thereon a lion statant gardant imperially crowned Proper; Mantling Or and ermine; for Supporters, dexter a lion rampant gardant Or crowned as the crest, sinister a unicorn Argent armed, crined and unglued Proper, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patee and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or. Motto “Dieu et mon Droit” in the compartment below the shield, with the Union Rose, Shamrock and thistle engrafted on the same stem.

Explanations: Argent (The silver of a coat of arms or silvery white or the white colour in Heraldry or armorial bearings);

1)      Gules (red, in Heraldry);

2)   Passant (of a beast, walking and looking towards the dexter side with the dexter forepaw raised);

3)   Gardant ( of a beast, Having the full face towards the spectator); 

4)   Or (tincture gold or yellow in armorial bearings);

5)   Langued (Represented with a tongue of a specified tincture);

6)      Azure (clear blue/sky coloured);

7)   Tressure flory-counter-flory (Tressure: A diminutive of the orle consisting of a narrow band of one-quarter the width of the bordure. An ornamental enclosure, circular or of several arches, containing the type or distinctive device, found on many gold and silver coins of former centuries; Flory : Of a cross having its arms tipped with Fleurs-de-Lis; Counter Flory: Having flowers on each side set opposite each other in pairs. Also termed as “Counter Flowered”);

8)      Statant (in relation to an animal – particularly a lion standing in profile with all four feet on the ground);

9)    Mantling (The ornamental accessory of drapery or scroll work frequently depicted behind and around an achievement);

10) Crest (A golden Lion, crowned royally and standing on a royal crown; with gold and ermine mantling);

11) Dexter (on the bearer’s right hand side of a shield, in Heraldry);

12) Sinister (on the bearer’s left hand side of a shield, in Heraldry);

13) Crined  (having the hair tinctured differently from the body, as a charge);

14) Patee (A cross of which the extremities are widened in the form of an open paw – normally applied to a cross the arms of which are nearly triangular, being very narrow where they meet and widening out towards the extremities, so that the whole composes nearly a square).

15) Fleurs de lis (A “lily-flower” which is scarcely found in England. Also referred to as the Heraldic lily. A representation which is also said to represent an iris or the top of a sceptre or that of a battle-axe or other weapon. It was also on the Royal arms of the French Royal Family and Flag before 1789);

16)  Shamrock ( A plant with tri-foliate leaves used by St. Patrick, according to tradition, to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity, and hence adopted as the National emblem of Ireland).

17) Thistle (The common name of the prickly herbaceous plants of the composite genus Carduus and closely allied genera, having stems, leaves, and involucres thickly armed with prickles. Also, the heraldic emblem of Scotland).

Coat of Arms of members of the Royal Family:

The members of the Royal family by Royal bloodlines receive their own personalised Arms which are based on the Royal Arms. Only the children and grandchildren in the male line of the monarch are entitled to receive their own Arms.

Queen consorts and the wives of sons of the monarch also receive their own personalised Coat of Arms. Normally, this will be the Arms of their husbands impaled with their own personal Arms or those of their father. However, the Queen regnant’s consort is not entitled to use the Royal Arms. Thus, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh uses his own personal arms.

Commemorative coins: 2012 Great British Coins:

Ø  Since 2008, a new series of designs for all seven coins of one pound and below based on an adaptation designed by Matthew Dent, have been issued by the Royal Mint which exhibit an interesting feature:    

The full Royal Arms appear on the one pound coin, however, sections of the Arms appear on each of the six smaller denomination coins in such a fashion that they can be put together like the pieces of a "jigsaw puzzle" to make another representation of the Royal Shield from the Royal Coat of Arms as can be seen on the reverse of the coin set given below:

The obverse design in all these coins is made by Ian Rank-Broadley and the reverse by Matthew Dent.

Ø  This set contains eight definitive coins which capture the history of Britain in their own unique style.

Ø  The coins include one each of a 2-pound coin, a 1 pound coin, a fifty pence coin, a twenty pence, (Remember that 25 pence coins are not issued since 1990, when the 5 Pound coin was rendered as being of its equivalent value), a ten pence coin, a five pence coin, a two pence coin and a one penny coin.

Ø  All these coins, except for the two pound coin have been redesigned in keeping with the design of the Royal Arms designed by Matthew Dent in 2008 which replaced the first decimal coins introduced in 1971 in the U.K. The two pound coin exhibits the same design as the one introduced in 1997, which was the first bi-colour coin for the UK which portrays the march of technology from the Iron Age to the Internet Age, based on the design made by Bruce Rushin.

Design error in the one penny coins:

There is a glaring error in the one penny coin on which the head of a lion from the I quarter of the shield, could not be fitted in by the engravers due to the small size of the coin.

 Design error in the 20 pence coins issued in 2008:

An interesting error occurred when the 20 p coins were minted the first time with the revised design in November 2008 under the new design made by Matthew Dent. In the existing 20 P coins till then, the practice was to place the year of issue on the reverse side where the Tudor rose was shown, however, to maintain uniformity of design of the portion of the Royal Arms, the year was not included on the reverse face but taken to the obverse (as can be seen in the 2012 coin set given here). Notwithstanding this requirement in about 2.50 lac coins of the 136 million 20 p coins minted in 2008-09, the coins got minted with the “old design”. This resulted in these coins not having the year of issue mentioned at all!!

 Shown above is the image of a 20 p coin issued with the Tudor rose design, showing the year of issue as 2008.

 The obverse side of the earlier 20 p coin not requiring the year of issue on this face, as it is mentioned on the reverse.

 The new design 20 p coin, not requiring the year of issue on the reverse, as it would spoil the design of the Royal Shield.

 The erroneously minted side of the new design coin, which was a replica of the Tudor Rose 20 p coin issues. Notice that the year of issue has shifted to the obverse in the coin set as given above or given a few coins below.

 Placement of the year of issue in the new design coins issued from 2008 onwards –

  Reverse or obverse:

In the earlier design of issues for the Two pound coin as well as the 20 p coins, the year of issue was mentioned on the reverse, contrary to the design on the other coins where the year was mentioned on the obverse. From the design introduced in 2008, the year of issue on the 2 pound coin was retained on the reverse as it was not included in the coins forming the “jigsaw puzzle” pieces of the Royal Arms, however, the year in the 20 p coins was shifted to the obverse.

Coin Specifications:

The quality of all these coins is Brilliant Uncirculated.

The 10 pence coin is made of Nickel plated steel and has a diameter of 6.50 gms, with a diameter of 24.50mm.

The 2 pence coin, on the other hand is Copper plated steel, weighs 7.12 gms and has a diameter of 25.91 mm

The one penny coin is, also, made of copper plated steel. It weighs 3.56 gms and has a diameter of 20.32 mm. Notice that the head of the lion on top is missing from the one penny coin.

The 5 pence coin is, also, made of Nickel plated steel and has a weight of 3.25 gms and a diameter of 18.00 mm.

The 20 pence coin is also made of cupro-nickel and has a weight of 5.00 gms and a diameter of 21.40 mm.

The fifty pence coin has a diameter of 27.30 mm and its alloy is Cupro-nickel. It has a weight of 8.00 gms.

The 1 pound coin has a weight of 9.50 gms and has a diameter of 22.50 mm. It is made of Nickel Brass. The reverse shows the shield of the Royal Arms. The edge inscription is “DECUS ET TUTAMEN” (An Ornament and a Safeguard).

The 2 pounds has a weight of 12.00 gms and has a diameter of 28.40mm. Its inner portion is made of Cupro-nickel, while the outer portion is made of nickel-brass. The reverse designer is Bruce Rushin. This design celebrates the technological advancement from the Iron-Age to present Day Computer- Age. To compliment this design, the edge inscription on the coin is “STANDING ON THE SHOULDER OF GIANTS” and is an abridged version of the acclaimed scientist Isaac Newton’s words acknowledging the contributions and accomplishments of previous generations to the cause of scientific advancement “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”.

Links:

British Crown Dependencies:

1) Specimen Banknotes from the States of Jersey

2) Coinage and Currency from the States of Jersey

3) Currency & Coinage of the Bailiwick of Guernsey

4) Currency & Coinage of Gibraltar : An Overseas Territory of Great Britain

5) Coinage of Gibraltar: (A British Overseas Territory): An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by the Tower Mint, UK in 2010
  
6) The Isle of Man: An Uncirculated Decimal Coin Collection Set minted by Pobjoy Mint, UK in 2015

7) The Centenary of the ill-fated Titanic (15.04.1912 - 15.04.2012): An Alderney Five Pound Coin Commemorating the Maritime Legend

8) "Man of Steel": A Superman Movie: A set of stamps brought out in 2013 by Jersey post, the States of Jersey, commemorating Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill who played Superman in the Movie

9) Coins & Currency of Bermuda

10) The Bailiwick of Jersey - Presently circulating coinage - Pounds and Pence 

11) St. Helena & Ascension Islands: An Uncirculated Coin Set from 2003 

12) The Legend of the "HMAV Bounty" is interwoven with the heritage of the Pitcairn Islands: An uncirculated coin set from Pitcairn Islands in 2009 depicting the icons/relics of the Bounty minted by the New Zealand Mint 

Famous Battles: 

1) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to St. Helena: (Part I): A One Crown Commemorative coin issued by the Ascension Island (minted by Pobjoy Mint UK) 

2) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's Exile to st. Helena: (Part II) 1) A 5 GBP Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK. 2) A"Drie Landen Zilverset" ( ot the "Three Lands Silver set") containing coins issued by the Royal Dutch Mint including coins of Netherlands, Belgium and UK

3) Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain by issuing a 50 Pence coin by the Royal Mint UK

Gold Coins:
  
1) Gold Sovereigns issued in 2013 & 2014 by MMTC-PAMP in India under licence from the Royal Mint, UK, carrying the "I" Mint Mark

2) Gold Half-Sovereigns minted by MMTC-PAMP in India in 2014 under licence from the Royal Mint UK bearing the "I" Mint Mark 

Silver Coins:

1) A 20 Pound Silver coin minted for the first timr by the royal Mint UK: reverse design carries the famous St. George slaying the dragon design found on Gold Sovereigns 

British India Coinage:

 1) East India Company Quarter Anna Copper Coin which is one of the first issues under the Coinage Act 1835

2) Victoria Coinage: When she was Queen and afterwards Empress

3) Edward VII: King & Emperor  Coinage

4) George V King Emperor Coinage

5) George VI: The last of the British India Emperors Coinage 

Other British Royalty: 

1) Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations (1952-2012): A Five Pound Commemorative coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK

2) Commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953: A Five Pound Coin minted by the Royal Mint UK in 2013, depicting the Imperial State Crown

3) The Royal Coat of Arms of the UK: Great British 2012 Coin Set (Uncirculated) issued by the Royal Mint UK

4) Prince George's Christening Ceremony celebrated with coins issued by the Royal Mint UK in 2013

5) The British Empire:  A Case of Numismatic "segregation": (Guest Post by Rahul Kumar)

6) 1) The Portrait Collection: Various Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II on Coinage 2) The Fourth & Final Circulating coinage of the Portrait designed by Ian Rank-Broadley and the First Edition of the portrait of the Queen made by Jody Clark

 British Coinage:

1) The contribution of the Great British One-Pound coins in keeping alive the historical legends/emblems/heritage of the UK (1983 onwards)

2) Transformation of a Five shilling Coin (Crown) into the UK Twenty-five Pence & then the Five Pound Coin

3) Transformation of the Two Shilling Coin (Florin) Coin into the UK Ten Pence

4) The 350th Anniversary of the Guinea: A Two Pound Coin issued by the Royal Mint UK celebrating the milestone

 Commemorative British Coinage:

 1) Commemorating the Bicentenary of Charles Dickens: A Two pound coin celebrating his literary contributions during the Victorian Era

 2) Commemorating 50 Years of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - presently called the World Wide Fund for Nature by issue of a Fifty Pence coin by the Royal Mint, UK

3) Coins commemorating London Olympics & Paralympics (2012)

4) Commemorating 150 Years of the London Underground : Two pound Coins minted by the Royal Mint UK, showing the "Roundel" logo and a train emerging from a tunnel 

5) Commemorating the 100th Birth anniversary of Christopher Ironside with his" Royal Arms" design on a 50 Pence coin issued by the Royal Mint, UK 

6) 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta - the Universal Guidepost to Liberty and Freedom

Inspirations from Scottish History: 

1) The Legend of King Bruce & the Spider on Banknotes

Banknotes from Scotland:
  
1) Commemorating Sir William Arrol and his creation the Forth Rail Bridge by issues of Britain's first ever 5 Pound Polymer Banknote