Britannia and Marianne on a £5 Coin to Celebrate the Entente Cordiale
By Coinsanduk | Friday, 23 January 2026
On March 8, 2004, the Royal Mint to commemorated the centenary of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France with a £5 coin. The Entente Cordiale (French for Cordial Agreement) is the bedrock of the modern relationship between Britain and France.
Signed on April 8, 1904, it ended centuries of intermittent warfare and colonial rivalry, transforming the two nations from enemies into strategic partners.
The reverse design, which combines and unifies Britannia and Marianne, two great national icons, is by the artist David Gentleman.
These icons and symbols of liberty are reproduced from a British florin and a French 2 franc piece, two coins that were in circulation when the Entente Cordiale Treaty was signed in 1904.
The figure of Britannia—a helmeted woman holding a trident and shield—is one of the oldest and most enduring symbols on world currency. Her presence on coins serves as a bridge between the ancient Roman past and the modern identity of the United Kingdom.
Since 1987, the Royal Mint has produced a specific Britannia coin in gold and silver. These are used by investors worldwide as a trusted store of value.
While Britannia represented a distant province of the Roman Empire, Marianne was born from the fires of the French Revolution. She is the personification of the French Republic and its values: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.
Her presence on coins is a constant reminder that the power of the state belongs to the people, not a monarch.
The two figures, each representing the individual qualities of her own country, are conjoined to demonstrate the importance of the historical bond between Britain and France. This design was revealed on International Women's Day, which also has its origins at the beginning of the last century.
The Entente Cordiale £5 was David Gentleman's first coin design. He was responsible for one hundred postage stamps issued over forty years, with one particularly notable series featuring Concorde, the great Anglo-French aeronautical achievement. The obverse of the coin features the portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley.
This commemorative £5 coin was available at its face value from many Post Offices or directly from the Royal Mint.
Like most £5 coin, it was also available in silver and gold.
5 Pounds 2004 Price Guide and Values
