Designs for British coins approved

London -- Britain's queen and Prime Minister Gordon Brown have approved new currency designs for Britain after a competition attracted 4,000 entries, a royal source said.

The source said the monarchy was "quite satisfied" with the new design, in which the queen's coat of arms is featured.

Coins of lower denomination than the pound will feature details of the traditional shield of the royal coat of arms, the Daily Telegraph reported.

When put together, the lower denominations reveal the entire shield, the report said.

The shield shows separate parts of the United Kingdom with three lions representing Britain, one representing Scotland and a harp to represent Northern Ireland, the report said.

The Royal Mint plans to unveil the designs on Wednesday.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.