1989 Claim of Right £2 Coin
The 1989 Claim of Right £2 is a circulating £2 with 381,400 made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1989
- Circulation mintage
- 381,400
- Value band
- Collector premium
- Designer
- John Lobban
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1989 Claim of Right £2 worth?
With 381,400 struck for circulation, the 1989 Claim of Right £2 ranks as the lowest mintage of the 42 circulating £2 coins we track. Collectors pay a collector premium even for worn examples. Sharp, uncirculated coins with no marks bring considerably more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with crisp edge lettering
- Original Royal Mint pack or presentation folder
- A genuine mint error such as a misaligned or wrong edge, confirmed by an expert
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 rare?
- Yes, by the standards of £2 coins. With 381,400 struck for circulation, the 1989 Claim of Right £2 ranks as the lowest mintage of the 42 circulating £2 coins we track.
- How many 1989 Claim of Right £2 coins were made?
- 381,400 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 1989 Claim of Right £2?
- The design is credited to John Lobban.
- What is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 made of?
- Nickel-brass (single metal). It weighs 15.98 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Can you still spend the 1989 Claim of Right £2?
- Technically yes. The Royal Mint says the single-metal £2 coins of 1986 to 1996 are still legal tender, but banks and shops do not have to accept them. Most people keep them, since they almost never appear in change.
Why the 1989 Claim of Right £2 was made
Scotland settled its crown in its own way in 1689. Meeting in Edinburgh, the Convention of Estates declared that James VII had forfeited the throne and set out its grievances and conditions in the Claim of Right. The document stands beside the English Bill of Rights as one of the founding texts of the Revolution settlement. William and Mary accepted the Scottish crown on the basis it laid down. It limited royal power north of the border in much the same spirit as the English act did in London.
For the tercentenary in 1989 the Royal Mint struck a Scottish companion to the Bill of Rights £2. The Claim of Right coin was issued in tiny numbers by comparison, just 381,400 for circulation, which makes it among the scarcest circulating £2 coins ever made. Like the other early £2 pieces it is single-metal nickel-brass and it never became a familiar sight in change, so many people who own one inherited it or found it among old coins put aside decades ago. Its scarcity has also drawn the attention of counterfeiters, which is why a careful look matters.
How to recognize it
The design is John Lobban's, shared with the English coin: an interlaced W&M cypher for King William and Queen Mary above a horizontal Parliamentary Mace, a representation of the Royal Crown above and the dates 1689 and 1989 below. What sets it apart is the circular inscription, which must read TERCENTENARY OF THE CLAIM OF RIGHT. Read every word, because the Bill of Rights coin looks the same at a glance and is more than ten times as common. The edge is milled with no inscription, so do not expect lettering. The portrait on the other side is Raphael Maklouf's. The whole coin is one gold-toned alloy.
The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.
1989 Claim of Right £2 by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1989 Claim of Right £2 is the lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next more common is the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 (485,500).
1989 brought 1 other circulating £2 design: the Bill of Rights (4.39 million). The 1989 Claim of Right £2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 1989 Claim of Right £2
- Read the edge. This design has no edge lettering: the edge should be milled. Lettering on the edge of this design, or a crude, uneven edge, is a sign of a counterfeit.
- This early £2 is a single gold-colored metal throughout and heavier than later two-metal coins.
- Weigh it: a genuine single-metal £2 weighs 15.98 g. Fakes are often a little light and softer in detail.
- Compare the portrait and lettering with a known genuine coin. Blurry letters, a flat portrait or uneven spacing point to a copy.
This is the coin to check first in any old £2 collection. Its circulation mintage was well under half a million, against several million for most £2 issues. Genuine examples carry a collector premium that rises steeply in uncirculated condition. That premium makes it a counterfeit target. A real one has sharp, evenly spaced lettering, crisp detail in the mace and crown, a neat milled edge and the even color of nickel-brass. Soft letters, a coppery or patchy tone or an uneven edge are warning signs. If in doubt, set it beside a Bill of Rights coin and compare.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1989 |
| Circulation mintage | 381,400 |
| Composition | Nickel-brass (single metal) |
| Weight | 15.98 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled, no lettering |
| Designer | John Lobban |
| Portrait | Maklouf |
Other 1989 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 Bill of Rights £2 Coin | 4,392,825 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 rare?
Yes, by £2 standards. Only 381,400 were struck for circulation, one of the lowest figures for any £2 coin. It is not impossibly hard to find, but collectors pay well above face value for genuine examples, especially ones in good condition.
How can you tell if a Claim of Right £2 is fake?
Compare it with a genuine 1989 Bill of Rights £2, which shares the design. Look for sharp, evenly spaced lettering, crisp detail on the mace and crown, a regular milled edge and an even brassy color. Mushy detail or odd coloring suggests a copy worth having checked.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.