A couple years ago, The Royal Mint in the UK invited me to submit a design envisioning the national personification of Britain—Britannia. Ultimately, it would be part of an annual series featuring Britannia, designed by a different artist each year. This felt like a very special opportunity as well as a weighty responsibility. How to do justice to an allegorical figure revered by a country where I’ve never lived?
I began thinking about this vision of Britannia by examining previous coin designs featuring Britannia, and by reading about the symbolism of Britannia herself, along with the various elements typically associated with her (shield, helmet, trident, water, lion). Nature is a great source of personal inspiration, so the possibility of the sea as a prominent element in my design appealed to me. Wanting to make both Britannia and her environment as dynamic as possible, I considered how a strong wind would animate her hair and create the waves that crash on the shores, and how the wind and waves could also symbolize the turbulent world we live in. The strength of Britannia in midst of the turmoil is evident—I hope.
2026 Britannia UK coin description
My design was released this month. It features a profile view of a confident and determined Britannia, wielding her traditional shield and trident and facing a strong wind. Her helmet’s ornamentation evokes the strong waves that frame her figure, a nod to her association with water. The rough seas also hint at the turmoil of the world we all live in, through which Britannia stands strong.
On the right is one of the most southeastern lighthouses in the UK: Longships.
Below, the inscription “Majesty, Justice, and Peace” alludes to Winston Churchill’s 1941 address to Congress, in which he spoke of a critical partnership between the people of the U.S. and the people of Great Britain:
“I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate, that in the days to come the British and American peoples will, for their own safety and for the good of all, walk together in majesty, in justice and in peace.”
The coins are available here in a variety of sizes/weights, in both gold and silver.
