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After the death of Alexander III in 1289, Scotland fell into a long period of internal strife and war with England. A nominal coinage was issued under John Balliol c.1296 and then in reign of Robert the Bruce (1306-1329), but the first substantial issue of coinage did not come until the reign of David II (1329-1371). The accession by James VI to the English throne in 1603 saw the fixing of value of the Scottish coinage to a ratio of 1 / 12 with English coinage. After the Act of Union in 1707 unique Scottish coinage came to an end. The last Scottish minted coins were the sterling issues based on the English denominations that were issued until 1709 with the "E" mintmark for Edinburgh. Some British coinages have featured Scottish devices, the Royal Arms of Scotland or the thistle emblem during the 20th century, but these are a part of the coinage of the United Kingdom, not unique to Scotland.
In the United Kingdom a streamlining of coinage production took place in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Until the Restoration of Charles II, coins were struck by hand. In 1816, there was a major change in the British coinage, powered by the Industrial Revolution. The Royal Mint moved from The Tower of London to new premises on nearby Tower Hill, and acquired powerful new steam powered coining presses. Further changes took place in the 1960s, when the Mint moved to modern premises at Llantrisant, near Cardiff.
After over a thousand years and many changes in production techniques, the monarch continues to be depicted on the obverse of modern UK coinage. Certain traditions are observed in this representation. From the time of Charles II onwards a tradition developed of successive monarchs being represented on the coinage facing in the opposite direction to their immediate predecessor. There was an exception to this in the brief reign of Edward VIII, who liked portraits of himself facing to the left, even though he should have faced to the right according to tradition. The designs for proposed coins in the Mint collection show Edward VIII facing to the left. The tradition has been restored since the reign of George VI.
During The Queen's reign there have been four representations of Her Majesty on circulating coinage. The original coin portrait of Her Majesty was by Mary Gillick and was adopted at the beginning of the reign in 1952. The following effigy was by Arnold Machin OBE, RA, approved by the Queen in 1964. That portrait, which features the same tiara as the latest effigy, was used on all the decimal coins from 1968. The next effigy was by Raphael Maklouf FRSA and was adopted in 1985. The latest portrait was introduced in 1998 and is the work of Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS, FSNAD. In keeping with tradition, the new portrait continues to show the Queen in profile facing to the right. Her Majesty is wearing the tiara which she was given as a wedding present by her grandmother Queen Mary.
Images of the monarch on bank notes are a much more recent invention. Although bank notes began to be issued from the late seventeenth century, they did not come to predominate over coins until the nineteenth century. Only since 1960 has the British Sovereign been featured on English bank notes, giving The Queen a unique distinction above her predecessors.
STAMPS
There is a close relationship between the British Monarchy and the postal system of the United Kingdom. Present-day postal services have their origins in royal methods of sending documents in previous centuries. Nowadays, the image of The Queen on postage stamps preserves the connection with the Monarchy.
For centuries letters on affairs of State to and from the Sovereign's Court, and despatches in time of war, were carried by Messengers of the Court and couriers employed for particular occasions. Henry VIII's Master of the Posts set up post-stages along the major roads of the kingdom where Royal Couriers, riding post-haste, could change horses. In Elizabeth I's day, those carrying the royal mail were to 'blow their horn as oft as they met company, or four times every mile'. Letters of particular urgency - for example, reprieves for condemned prisoners - bore inscriptions such as 'Haste, haste - post haste - haste for life for life hast' and the sign of the gallows. During the reign of James I (1603-25) all four posts of the kingdom still centred on the Court: The Courte to Barwicke (the post to Scotland); The Courte to Beaumoris (to Ireland); The Courte to Dover (to Europe) and The Courte to Plymouth (the Royal Dockyard).
Реферат опубликован: 1/08/2006