122 JANUARY 2016 http://www.stampandcoin.co.ukBritish coins
Tails you win
The seated figure on the reverses of most British copper and bronze coins altered her appearance more
frequently than the monarchs on the obverses, as Steve Webb explainsQuintus Lollius Urbicus. She is
shown seated, facing left on a rocky
mound, her left arm resting on a
shield, her right grasping a Roman
legionary standard, and with the
legend ‘BRITANNIA S C’ around. It
was to be the last time any coin user
from these islands saw her for the
next 1,532 years when she reappeared
in 1672 on the reverses of copper
halfpennies and farthings struck inthe reign of Charles II. She looked
remarkably similar to her Roman
counterpart: seated, facing left, a
shield close to her left arm; and with
‘BRITANNIA’ around. Instead of
a Roman legionary standard, she
supported a spear in the crook of her
left arm, while her right hand raised
a laurel branch. A date replaced ‘S C’
in exergue.
Rumours circulated in aristocratic
circles at the time that the model
for the well proportioned figure
had been Frances Teresa Stewart,
later Duchess of Richmond. She
had infatuated King Charles when
at court, but rejected his proposal
that she should become his mistress.
The king turned instead to Barbara
Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland,
whose name was similarly linked
to the Britannia figure. Beyond the
court circle, at society’s lower levels
where the vast majority of the much
needed coppers frequently changed
hands, the common people of Stuart
England became accustomed to
seeing new monarchs on their money
as the crown passed from Charles II
to James II, then William and Mary,From left: more than
1,500 years after she
fi rst appeared on British
coinage, Charles II
borrowed the image
for his copper coins.
Rumour whispered that
the life model was one
of his many mistresses- George I penny with
Britannia in much
better condition
B
ritannia, as a
personification of
the spirit of our
island homeland,
made her debut
c.AD 140 on the
reverse of a Roman bronze
sestertius of Antoninus Pius issued
to commemorate the conquest
of Caledonia (Scotland) by the
emperor’s appointed governor,From left: in AD 140 Britannia was personifi ed on the reverse of a bronze sestertius of Antoninus Pius. On this fi nd vestiges of the
legend ‘BRITANNIA’ can be seen. The coin sold in a TimeLine Auction in 2011 for £275 • William and Mary were innovative with their
obverse portraits, but they scarcely altered Britannia on their reversesp122 Tails.indd 122 23/11/2015 14:49