New British coins to be minted

The designs are quite remarkable and seemingly quixotic, until one realizes that each depicts a portion of the Royal Arms -

The Royal Arms is divided into four parts: England being represented by the three lions passant guardant in the first and fourth quarters, the Scottish lion rampant in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third, with all four quarters spread over the six coins from the 1p to the 50p. Completing the new range of coins is the £1 coin featuring the shield of the Royal Arms in its entirety, uniting the six fragmented elements into one design.

When the six smaller coins are arranged as shown below, the pattern of the shield is revealed. Much more information about the forthcoming coins, as well as previous coin designs, decimalization etc., is available at the Royal Mint website.