THE image of Britannia, which has featured on British coins for hundreds of years, is to be retired from this April. In her place will be representations of modern Britain submitted by contemporary artists.

Gordon Brown personally approved the change in one of his last decisions as chancellor of the exchequer. The decision was also approved by the Queen. Now the 50p piece will no longer automatically carry the Britannia image.

A spokesman for the Treasury confirmed: “As people will see when the new mint run is issued, the chosen designs represent the best traditions of British coinage and are totally in line with the government’s desire to celebrate our British heritage, including our historic national and heraldic emblems.”

He added that Britannia may feature on some coins in future, but not as a permanent feature.

“This is not the first time that the Britannia design has not featured on the 50p piece, as with the mint run two years ago celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross,” he said.

“Britannia and other traditional designs will return in future mint runs.”

William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “Britannia has been an enduring symbol of British pride and history. It is all too typical of a government with an inadequate sense of British pride and an ignorance of history to want to do away with such a symbol.”

The move is embarrassing for Brown, who made a point of emphasising “British values” such as responsibility, liberty and fairness when he became prime minister.

Last June he insisted that the Union flag be flown from every government building and even threw his weight behind a campaign to keep BBC Radio 4’s theme based on traditional songs from the British Isles.

The Royal Mint launched a competition in 2005 to find designs for British coins. More than 4,000 designs have been submitted, but the Royal Mint would not say which images would replace Britannia in the spring.

Records show that the figure of Britannia was used by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago. She first appeared on a coin during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, who ruled from AD117 to 138. By the time of Queen Victoria, Britannia had become a trident-wielding symbol of the British Empire.

The crowned lion and chained portcullis will also lose their status as the default designs on British coins.

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