£2 Coins
Just Discovered: Rare “Inverted Effigy” £2 Coin
It’s time to really start examining your change again.
Change Checker has just been able to confirm that a small number of “Inverted Effigy” £2 Coins have entered circulation.
The Inverted Effigy Coin has the Queen’s head rotated clockwise by approximately 150 degrees
First discovered by a Change Checker, and now confirmed as genuine by The Royal Mint, this unusual strike appears on a handful of the 2015 Britannia £2 Coins.
The Royal Mint has accounted for the seemingly impossible misalignment of the Queen’s effigy as “almost certainly the result of one of the dies working loose and rotating during the striking process”.
The result is that the Queen’s head is offset by around 150 degrees compared to the Britannia design on the reverse of the coin.
Just how rare is the Inverted Effigy £2 Britannia?
The Royal Mint is unable to give any indication of how many Inverted Effigy coins have entered circulation but we can make some initial estimates.
The first-year 2015 £2 Britannia is already one of the most-scarce circulating £2 coins ever issued with just 650,000 coins passing through banks and cash centres. That already places it third equal in the all-time low mintage charts.
We have analysed 5,000 circulation coins and our results suggest that the Inverted Effigy may have affected as few as 1 in 200 of the coins struck – in other words around just 3,250 coins.
Of course, if the Inverted Effigy is a consequence of the die slipping during the striking process, it is possible that there may be other variations where the Queen’s head is less or more misaligned as the die has worked its way out of position.
Errors, mis-strikes and myths
Of course, given the many million coins The Royal Mint strike each year, it is to their immense credit that mis-strikes and errors are so few and far between. But, of course, when they do arise, they cause great collector excitement, as some of these other examples pay testament to.
- The Undated 20p – read more
- The “Silver” 2p – read more
- The 2014 Year of the Horse Silver £2 – read more
But there are a few myths out there too – upside down edge lettering, the “Pemember” Gunpowder Plot £2 coin and the “Necklace” £2 coin, which all have perfectly normal explanations.
Buyers beware
But finally a note of caution. I’m sure in time we’ll see some “examples” of the Inverted Effigy £2 for sale online. Before you think of buying one, please beware. Are you seeing a genuine Inverted Effigy or just a coin that someone has rotated in a photograph to make it look inverted?
Pride without prejudice – how Jane Austen came to appear on our coins and banknotes in 2017.
2017 marks 200 years since the death of Jane Austen – one of the best-loved English novelists of all time. And to celebrate such an inspirational female figure, both The Royal Mint and the Bank of England chose to honour her on a brand new coin and banknote.
People power wins
Back in May 2013, a petition to ‘keep a woman on English banknotes’ gained momentum. Over 35,000 people signed the petition after it was announced that Winston Churchill would replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry as the face of the £5 note in 2016. At the time this meant that other than the Queen, there would be no women featuring on English banknotes.
However, people power won as Jane Austen became the new face of the polymer £10 note in 2017, replacing Charles Darwin.
It is thought that Jane Austen was already part of the Bank’s plans for the next new note as in a statement the Bank said it was “never the Bank’s intention” that none of the four characters on banknotes would be a woman.
The Bank of England have featured characters on their banknotes since 1970 to celebrate individuals that have shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society.
Jane Austen is the 17th historical figure to feature on a Bank of England note.
So not only does Jane Austen feature on the new £10 note, The Royal Mint also feature this inspirational author on the new 2017 £2 coin. Designed by Dominique Evans, the new £2 features a silhouette of Jane Austen with the dates 1817-2017.
The £2 coin issued by The Royal Mint has been struck to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, one of the best-loved English novelists.
This £2 for 2017 was struck to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen.
This was the first time ever that someone featured on a circulation coin and banknote at the same time – other than the reigning monarch.
A tiny portrait of Jane Austen also appears on four of the new polymer £5 notes as a microscopic engraving produced by Specialist micro-engraver Graham Short. The collector’s items are said to be worth over £20,000 each!
Own the 2017 Jane Austen £2 Coin and £10 Banknote Pack
This is your opportunity to receive one of the very first Polymer £10 notes issued in perfect mint condition alongside the 2017 Jane Austen £2 Coin issued by The Royal Mint.
Is there an even rarer version of the Navy £2 in circulation?
Change Checkers have been speculating whether there are two different design variations of the 2015 Navy £2 coin that was released into circulation a couple of months ago.
This coin has already caused a stir in the collecting world as we revealed it was one of the rarest £2 coins with just 650,000 struck for circulation.
The 2015 Navy £2 coin was released into circulation a couple of months ago.
The original Navy £2 design (above) shows the coin without any markings on the top right of the mast, but we’ve seen a few £2’s out there that look like they have a flying flag.
A number of people have been enquiring about whether there were two different designs of the Navy £2 coin struck for circulation.
As you can see from the two coins pictured above, the coin on the right looks like it has a flying flag on the mast whereas the first coin is free from any markings.
So are there two different designs?
No – The Royal Mint strike up to 5 billion coins a year and from time to time cracks in the die can cause pools of metal to form on the coin.
It just so happens that this bit of metal has caused the markings on these coins to look like a flying flag on the ship fueling speculation that two different variations were struck.
Well done to the eagle-eyed change checkers out there who spotted differences between the coins. It’s the little details like these that make collecting so interesting so remember to always check your change carefully.
Have you checked your Navy £2?
Let us know via Facebook, Twitter or leave us a comment below.