In 2009 for the second year running the Royal Mint released a very special Limited Issue Brilliant Uncirculated £1 One Pound Coin First Day Cover commemorating the new Shield of the Royal Arms designed by Matthew Dent
As a powerful symbol of royal authority the Royal Arms, in various forms, have featured on the coinage of almost every monarch since the reign of Edward III (1327-77).
Coins were, and still are, issued under the personal authority of the monarch and came to be regarded as vehicles for royal imagery, whether in the form of a portrait or a monarch's personal Coat of Arms.