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This article discusses the British Two Pounds coins, both the commemorative issues issued between 1986 and 1996, and the regular bimetallic circulation coin first issued in 1998, dated 1997, only. These is also a separate article about earlier Two Pounds coins issued in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The commemorative coin (1986-1996)
The commemorative Two Pounds (£2) coin was minted from the same composition as the £1 coin, i.e. a nickel-brass alloy of approximately 70% copper, 24.5% nickel, and 5.5% zinc. The coin weighs 15.98 grams and has a diameter of 28.40 millimetres.
The only obverse used by the commemorative £2 coin is the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D TWO POUNDS.
There were seven issues of this coin, with the following reverses and inscriptions:
- 1986: 13th Commonwealth Games held in Scotland.
- Reverse: Thistle on St Andrews' Cross, 1986 above.
- Inscription: XIII COMMONWEALTH GAMES SCOTLAND 1986.
- 1989: Tercentenary of the English Bill of Rights.
- Reverse: Intertwined W and M with mace, English crown above, 1689 over 1989 below, TERCENTENARY OF THE BILL OF RIGHT above.
- No inscription.
- 1989: Tercentenary of the Scottish Claim of Right.
- Reverse: Intertwined W and M with mace, Scottish crown above, 1689 over 1989 below, TERCENTENARY OF THE CLAIM OF RIGHT above.
- No inscription.
- 1994: Tercentenary of the Bank of England.
- Reverse: Seal of the Bank of England, Intertwined W and M surmounted by crown above legend BANK OF ENGLAND 1694 1994.
- Inscription: SIC VOS NON VOBIS above.
- 1995: 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
- Reverse: Dove carrying olive branch.
- Inscription: 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995.
- An unusual coin in only having the date on its edge.
- 1995: 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
- Reverse: Array of flags, 50 and UN symbol Legend: NATIONS UNITED FOR PEACE 1945 - 1995.
- Milled edge, no inscription.
- 1996: Euro 96 European Football Championships.
- Reverse: Representation of a Football, 1996 in centre, 16 small rings. Edge inscription: TENTH EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP.
These coins tended not to circulate at the time of their issue, but they do seem to appear in circulation more often now that there is also a circulating coin of this denomination.
The modern coin (1997-)
In 1997 a new design was produced, intended to circulate on a daily basis. It is the first bi-metallic coin to be produced for circulation in Britain since the tin farthings with a copper plug, produced in 1692, and the highest denomination coin in current circulation. The coins consist of an outer gold-coloured nickel-brass ring, comprised of 76% copper, 20% zinc, and 4% nickel, and an inner silver-coloured cupro-nickel disc comprised of 75% copper, 25% nickel. The coins weigh 12.00 grams and are 28.40 millimetres in diameter.
Because of technical difficulties, the 1997-dated coins which bear the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf were not released to circulation until June 1998 (the same time as the 1998-dated coins). 1998 and later dated coins bear the effigy of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley. The comparative rarity of the Maklouf coins ("the ones with the necklace") has led to an urban legend that they are much more valuable than the other coins, but this is absolutely not true -- there are over 13 million 1997-dated £2's in circulation. The Maklouf-effigy coins bear the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D on the obverse; the Rank-Broadley coins bear the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REG FID DEF.
Another urban legend about the coin is that if you place it in the freezer overnight, the cupro-nickel centre will pop out.
They are sometimes jokingly refered to as ‘beer tokens,’ since at the time of their introduction a pint of beer cost around two pounds in many British pubs.
The normal reverse of the coin, designed by Bruce Rushin, bears a concentric design symbolically representing technological development from the Iron Age, through the Industrial Revolution and the Electronic Age to the Internet, with the inscription TWO POUNDS above the design and the date below. It is worth noting that the design depicts nineteen interlocking cogs; due to this odd number, the mechanism could not actually turn outside a mobius strip. The coin has the edge inscription STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS taken from a letter by Sir Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke, in which he describes how his work was built on the knowledge of those that had gone before him. "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
This denomination is now commonly used for commemorative purposes, and the following varieties have been issued:
- 1999: Rugby World Cup.
- Reverse: Symbolic representation of a stadium with a rugby ball and goalposts; 1999 above the design, TWO POUNDS below.
- Inscription: RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999.
- 4.9 million coins in circulation.
- 2001: Transatlantic radio centenary.
- Reverse: Symbolic representation Marconi's transatlantic wireless transmission of 1901; TWO POUNDS below.
- Inscription: WIRELESS BRIDGES THE ATLANTICw/.MARCONIw/.1901.
- 2002: Commonwealth Games, Manchester. (English issue)
- Reverse: XVII COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2002 around an athlete holding a banner, £2 in front and the English flag.
- Inscription: SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002.
- 2002: Commonwealth Games, Manchester. (Welsh issue)
- Reverse: XVII COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2002 around an athlete holding a banner, £2 in front and the Welsh flag.
- Inscription: SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002.
- 2002: Commonwealth Games, Manchester. (Northern Irish issue)
- Reverse: XVII COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2002 around an athlete holding a banner, £2 in front and the Northern Irish flag.
- Inscription: SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002.
- 2002: Commonwealth Games, Manchester. (Scottish issue)
- Reverse: XVII COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2002 around an athlete holding a banner, £2 in front and the Scottish flag.
- Inscription: SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002.
- 2003:: 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA.
- Reverse: Representation of the DNA double helix, DNA DOUBLE HELIX above, 1953 TWO POUNDS 2003 below.
- Inscription: DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID followed by a decorative side view of a double helix.
- 2004: Bicentenary of the first railway locomotive.
- Reverse: The 1804 locomotive with TWO POUNDS above it, with a "toothed wheel" design on the inner edge of the gold coloured ring.
- Inscription: 2004 R. TREVITHICK 1804 INVENTION - INDUSTRY - PROGRESS.
- 2005: 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot
- Reverse: Three Parliamentary maces, three episcopal crooks, and six swords in the centre, 1605 - 2005 above, TWO POUNDS below, and fourteen gunpowder explosion stars on either side.
- Inscription: REMEMBER REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER
- 2005: 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
- Reverse: Saint Paul's Catherdral crossed with searchlights, 1945 - 2005 above, TWO POUNDS.
- Inscription: In Victory Magnaminity in Peace Goodwill
See also
| British coinage |
|---|
| Coins currently in use One Penny | Two Pence | Five Pence | Ten Pence | Twenty Pence Fifty Pence | One Pound | Two Pounds Coins not in general circulation Half Penny | Twenty-Five Pence | Five Pounds |