2009 brings Philip Nathans dynamic portrayal of Britannia onto the £2, emphasising her strength and long associations with the sea. Framed by the ornate romanesque-style crenellated border peculiar to Britannia coins, the reverse features the majestic figure of Britannia standing proud in her horse-drawn chariot as she races along the shore. The obverse features the portrait of Her Majesty The Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.
Produced to uncirculated quality, a higher quality than those found in your pocket, in .958 Britannia silver, a purer standard of alloy than sterling silver, the Britannia bullion £2 coin contains one ounce of fine silver.
The iconic figure of Britannia has featured on the coinage for centuries and has graced both decimal and pre-decimal coins of the Queens reign. Britannia was indeed an appropriate choice for the new bullion coins introduced in 1987. Philip Nathan submitted several designs as possibilities for the reverses including one which he felt appropriately linked Britannia with Boudicca. He was asked to adapt this particular design for the Britannia coins of 1997, the year that the silver Britannias were introduced, and it has now been chosen for the coins of 2009.
