The new designs for the British coins have been recently unveiled. There were 4,000 entries to a public competition to find the new designs; it was won by someone called Matthew Dent.
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. You can see images of the coins here.
While the new designs are unique and a definite improvement I feel there has been a real missed opportunity here. Yet again the coins are plastered with the Queen and the royal coat of arms. The Queen is nothing more than the head of a dysfunctional family that has no relevance or interest for the vast majority of the population. I believe the coinage of a country should reflect the values and customs that that country holds dear. While there is no denying the fact that Britain is known for its Royal Family, they play little or no part in today’s society.
Britain has provided the world with many important inventions over the course of its history that could have been recognized. Inventions and discoveries that have saved peoples’ lives and changed the way we live our lives. One of the most recent ones, the World Wide Web, has changed the way we will communicate forever.
I am not suggesting we stick the WiFi logo on the coins but some reference would hold more relevance to people today. Why not have The London Eye or some reference to sport (we probably invented half of them) as we are a nation of sports fans. There are many options available that could showcase what it is like to live in Britain today but it seems we are stuck with the same archaic drivel for many more years to come.
