I note that Neil Shaw (Letters, April 5) feels that "we cannot really complain" about the use of English heraldry on the new UK coins. Well, I can, and do, complain. If these coins are UK coins, then why the English heraldry? The fact that the present incumbent of the throne of the UK is frequently and erroneously referred to as Queen of England and is numbered as the second of that name only makes this latest outbreak of English establishment hubris the more difficult to bear.
Mr Shaw states that he cannot recall any complaints about the inscription ER VII on the brass plates on the entrance doors of Parliament Hall in Edinburgh. As Edward the first and seventh ascended the throne on August 9, 1902, I can fully understand why he has difficulty with his recollections.
Notwithstanding Mr Shaw's recollections or the lack of them about complaints regarding the appellation ER VII, I have in my possession a commemorative medallion struck in 1902 with an inscription on the obverse that says: "Edward First (Not Seventh) of Britain and the British Empire."
On the other side it states: "In Defence of Scotland's National Rights and Honour." That sounds like a complaint to me.
Instead of making mealy-mouthed utterances such as "we cannot really complain", perhaps it is time that we, as a nation, stood up once more in defence of Scotland's rights and honour.
Hamish Henderson, 9 Barassie Drive, Bridge of Weir.
I couldn't help noticing that the part of the English quartering of the royal arms which represents Scotland was relegated to the 2p coin. I suppose we should be grateful it wasn't the 1p.
Pre-decimalisation, there was numismatic equality of a kind, with both English and Scottish versions of the shilling, which was progressively eroded after 1971; we got the 5p featuring the Scottish crown and thistle issued at the same time as the 10p showing a lion wearing the English crown. This was followed 11 or 12 years later by a 20p featuring the English rose.
Does Gordon Brown, who approved the designs, think relegating the lion rampant to the coin of second lowest value is the best way to encourage Scots to continue to embrace the Union?
Jane Ann Liston, 5 Whitehill Terrace, Largo Road, St Andrews.
Donald R Buchanan (Letters, April 4) is correct. The designs on the reverse of the new UK coins are based on the English version of the royal arms of the UK and it is the same English version which appears on the front cover of UK passports.
Perhaps if we still had a Mint in Scotland, as provided for in Article XVI of the Treaty and Acts of Union of 1706-1707, things would be different, given that the closure of the Edinburgh Mint in 1709 was unconstitutional. Further, efforts are continuing to rectify the passport anomaly. In the meantime, I have stuck a full-colour Scottish version of the royal arms on page five of my passport.
However, Mr Buchanan is wrong to suggest that it is the English version of the royal standard which the SRU flies at Murrayfield. When the Lady Anne, Princess of Scotland, is at Murrayfield, it is the Scottish version of the royal standard that is flown, with a white bar at the top to indicate her status as a princess.
Indeed, the Queen also flies the Scottish version when in residence, or journeying by car, in Scotland.
Dr Alexander S Waugh, 1 Pantoch Gardens, Banchory.
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