Posts Tagged ‘£2 coin release’
£2 coin enters circulation! 2021 Mintage Figures Revealed…
The Royal Mint has JUST revealed the mintage figures for all UK circulation coins and it confirms a £2 coin entered circulation!
It’s fantastic to see that a £2 coin entered circulation in 2021 – the Britannia £2!
So, we’ve updated our £2 Mintage Figure chart to show you where this new coin ranks…
New £2 Coin in Circulation
We wouldn’t normally combine definitive and commemorative mintage figures into one chart, however the comparative figures give us an interesting insight into the diversity of the change in our pocket.
The Britannia £2 coin entered circulation in 2021, after a 4 year break.
6,045,000 entered circulation, meaning we stand a good chance of finding one in our change!
And, it looks as though we have some 2021 dated definitive coins to hunt down in our change…
- Nations of the Crown £1: 21,760,000
- Royal Shield 20p: 19,600,000
- Royal Shield 10p: 71,200,000
- Royal Shield 5p: 28,000,000
- Royal Shield 2p: 117,700,000
- Royal Shield 1p: 56,000,000
50p Mintage Figures
Sadly, no 50p coins entered circulation in 2021, meaning our mintage figure chart won’t be updated until we get the confirmed mintages for the 2022 50p coins.
The coins you should be looking out for in your change include the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p, 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny 50p coins, the 2018 Mrs Tittlemouse 50p, and the 2017 Royal Shield 50p.
What about the Olympic 50ps?
In 2012, the Olympic 50p coins entered circulation and it kick-started a collecting frenzy across the nation.
It’s estimated that around 75% of these coins have been removed from circulation by collectors which means they are incredibly sought-after, especially considering these 50ps have some of the lowest mintage figures in circulation…
Many of the Olympic 50ps have a mintage less than 2,000,000 with the rarest (the Olympic Football 50p) having a mintage of just 1,125,500. See the full mintage figures for these coins here >>
Taking these rare 50ps into consideration, the 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny coins would sit in joint sixth position, below the Kew Gardens, Football, Wrestling, Judo and Triathlon 50ps.
Have you been lucky enough to find any of the 2021 circulation coins in your change?
It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and you realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
It’ll only take you a minute…
The Royal Mint has just re-issued the FIRST EVER definitive £2 – with a twist!
The iconic UK definitive bi-metallic £2 has just been re-issued by The Royal Mint, celebrating 25 years since it first entered circulation!
Order your 2022 UK 25th Anniversary CERTIFIED BU £2 here >>
This brand new coin follows the design of the first definitive £2, the Technology £2. But eagle-eyed collectors will spot some very special features on this new issue…
25 years of our bi-metallic £2 celebrated with a new lenticular feature
In the centre of the original Technology £2, you’ll see the central lenticular area transform from four separate scrolls into eight intertwined scrolls, representing the Iron Age.
But, instead of eight scrolls, this re-issued bi-metallic £2 reveals the number ‘25’ when tilted – a clever way of celebrating the anniversary!
Last QEII Commemorative Bi-Metallic £2
The 25th anniversary of the £2 coin is confirmed to be the last UK commemorative bi-metallic £2 coin which features an effigy of Her Late Majesty.
This is sure to make this coin even more sought-after, as collectors rush to find the last UK coins with Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait on them.
Special dual-date
As well as the unique lenticular feature, this brand new £2 also features a special dual-date.
Featuring the original 1997 date on the reverse, and the 2022 date on the obverse, this coin becomes one of just a handful of UK coins to have a dual-date on its design.
Special Privy Mark
The obverse not only features Jody Clark’s QEII portrait, but also includes a special privy mark in the form of the central Iron Age circle.
Order your 2022 UK Bi-Metallic Re-issued 25th Anniversary CERTIFIED BU £2 here >>
Sell out history
Plus, this year has already seen £2 coin SELL OUTS. On the day the 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2 launched, limited edition specifications SOLD OUT within mere hours!
Make sure you get your hands on the 2022 UK 25th Anniversary CERTIFIED BU £2 by ordering yours here >>
The favourite UK £2 coin – voted by you!
Earlier this year, we asked Change Checkers which bi-metallic £2 design was their favourite. Can you guess which one came out on top? Find out here >>
The Scarcest Bi-metallic £2 coins
Plenty of popular bi-metallic £2 coin designs have gone into circulation since 1997, but the most scarce £2 coin is the 2002 Commonwealth Games NI £2.
With a mintage figure of just 485,500, this coin is particularly hard to spot in your change. Find out more about this coin here >>
£2 ‘errors’
You may also spot £2 ‘errors’ in your change too, although these are very rare. They can occur when striking the bi-metallic coins, which has a very specific process. If you’d like to learn more about error and mis-strike coins, click here >>
The re-issued bi-metallic £2 coin is sure to be a hit with collectors. What is your favourite £2 from the last 25 years?
Order your 2022 UK Bi-Metallic Re-Issued 25th Anniversary CERTIFIED BU £2 here >>
Is your H.G. Wells £2 coin worth thousands? How to spot if you’ve got an ‘error’ coin!
Every keen collector knows that it is worthwhile paying close attention to the small details of your coins – it’s the only way you can ever hope to spot an error.
From edge inscription mix ups to inverted effigies, there are a few stories that crop up more often than not. However, recently, a couple of ‘error’ stories have cropped up, that Change Checker really think you should pay attention to – involving an H.G. Wells £2 and the Technology £2…
Stay tuned as we take a closer look at these ‘errors’ and help you determine if your £2 coin is a genuine rarity!
H.G. Wells £2 – Blank ‘Error’
This £2 coin was issued as part of the 2021 UK Commemorative Coin set and it marks the 75th anniversary of the death of science fiction novelist, H. G. Wells.
With the clue in the name, this bi-metallic coin is made up of a combination of a silver coloured cupro-nickel disc and an outer yellow nickel-brass ring.
In the case of this H.G. Wells £2 coin however, it appears that the blank used has a thicker yellow ring, much wider than what we’d see on normal £2 coins.
When striking £2 coins, the first step is to punch a hole through a blank planchet to create the outer section. The inner core is taken from a different metal, sized to fit inside the outer ring.
There have already been estimations that if this coin was to be sold at auction, it could fetch over £1,000! We’re going to be eagerly awaiting confirmation from The Royal Mint whether this error is genuine or not. Nonetheless, it certainly makes for interesting collecting!
This coin is yet to be individually issued, so any ‘error’ versions will have come exclusively from the 2021 UK Annual Set. It’ll certainly be interesting to see if any other stories crop up after the coin’s individual issue….
Whilst there are no identical examples to compare the H.G. Wells £2 ‘error’ to, there have been previous instances of the inner and outer sections of £2 coins not quite matching up:
Clipped Planchet
In the above image, the inner core was punched out from the end of the sheet of metal used for blanks, forming a straight or ragged edge clip.
Whilst this also occurs with monometallic coins, the pairing with an outer ring exposes a large gap which is much more noticeable.
The Royal Mint strike millions of coins each year so it is inevitable that variances will occur during the striking process and can’t always be picked up during quality control, despite the fact that this particular coin would weigh less than the standard 12g £2 coin.
Off Centre Inner Core
The inner core of this coin hasn’t been united properly prior to being struck, resulting in an off centre inner core.
Due to the way the inner and outer core are struck together with the two metals being lined up and then fused together during striking, a misalignment will mean that the inner core spills into the outer ring, as seen in the image above. There might also be a gap between the two metals on the opposing join.
Faulty Outer Ring
This particular mis-strike, shows a faulty planchet or outer ring, where the inner core is exposed.
In the image above, you can actually see the specific engineering design features where the inner core is grooved to help the metal flow bond to the outer ring and fuse during striking.
Similar to the first mis-strike we looked at, this could be caused by a clipped planchet, this time created when the outer ring was punched, however coins like this may also be caused by tampering post striking, for example by fakers trying to replace the inner core of a £2 with another coin to pass off as a rare error.
Bronze £2 Error
The ‘Monometallic’ £2 is described as the Holy Grail of bimetallic ‘errors’ and is the result of the nickel-brass £2 blank not having the inner core section punched out before being struck.
This means that the £2 coin is made from one full piece of nickel-brass, completely contrasting the very idea of a bimetallic coin.
A 2007 monometallic £2 was verified by The Royal Mint and in the email confirming the mis-strike it was mentioned that they had only seen 4-5 similar coins before.
However, in 2021, Change Checker was contacted by a collector called Amin who informed us that he had found this exact error coin but with a 2010 date.
After sending details of his coin to The Royal Mint for further information, it was confirmed to be genuine error as a result of the minting process.
This rare striking error is highly sought-after and coins have achieved extraordinary prices in private sales and auctions.
Whilst information of this coin’s sale has remained private, it’s certainly a very interesting story and we imagine the collector can expect to see a very impressive return on this coin…
We look forward to the individual release of the HG Wells £2 later this year and will certainly be keeping our eyes peeled for any unusual looking variations!
Have you ever come across any of these £2 error coins in your collection?
We’d love to know! Comment below.
