1995 End of World War II £2 Coin
The 1995 End of World War II £2 is a circulating £2 with 4.39 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1995
- Circulation mintage
- 4,394,566
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- John Mills
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 1995 End of World War II £2 worth?
4.39 million were made, so the 1995 End of World War II £2 is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins and coins still in their original Royal Mint pack.
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 1995 End of World War II £2 rare?
- No. 4.39 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1995 End of World War II £2 coins were made?
- 4,394,566 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 1995 End of World War II £2?
- The design is credited to John Mills.
- What is the 1995 End of World War II £2 made of?
- Nickel-brass (single metal). It weighs 15.98 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Can you still spend the 1995 End of World War II £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 1995 End of World War II £2 was made
Fifty years after the end of the Second World War, Britain held a year of commemorations. The Royal Mint added a £2 coin to them. The war in Europe had ended on 8 May 1945 and the war against Japan followed in August, closing six years of conflict that had touched almost every family in the country. By 1995 the generation that fought and lived through it was growing older. Street parties, services and veterans' parades gave the anniversary real emotional weight. The coin was part of that national moment.
Rather than a battle scene, the coin used a simple symbol: a dove of peace. It was one of two £2 coins dated 1995, the other marking the founding of the United Nations. Both were single-metal nickel-brass pieces in the format that had begun in 1986. With well over four million struck, the dove coin is one of the more familiar early £2 types. It still appears when people sort through coins saved by parents and grandparents who kept it as a souvenir of the anniversary.
How to recognize it
John Mills drew the reverse as a stylized dove, the traditional symbol of peace. It is a clean, uncluttered design that is easy to spot among other early £2 coins. The edge is where this coin speaks: it reads 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995. Those words come from the moral Winston Churchill gave to his history of the war, 'In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.' Ten years later the 2005 VE Day £2 used another part of the same line on its edge. The coin is solid nickel-brass, gold colored right through, with Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen on the obverse.
The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.
1995 End of World War II £2 by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1995 End of World War II £2 ranks 25th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 1989 Bill of Rights £2 (4.39 million); the next more common is the 2001 Marconi £2 (4.56 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 2.3 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 12 times fewer than this one.
It shared 1995 with 1 other circulating £2 design: the United Nations (1.67 million). The 1995 End of World War II £2 was the most plentiful of the year.
What to check on your 1995 End of World War II £2
- Read the edge. It should say 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995. A wrong or missing edge inscription is the quickest 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.
A circulation mintage of 4,394,566 puts this in the common bracket for an early £2, so a worn coin is a face value piece. Bright, unhandled examples bring a small premium. The dove's smooth surfaces show rubbing quickly, so look there first when you judge wear. If yours sits in Royal Mint packaging, keep it there: a pack coin has unmarked surfaces, while one from a jar of change shows tiny nicks on the rim and fields. Many collectors like to pair it with the 2005 VE Day coin because of the shared edge wording.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1995 |
| Circulation mintage | 4,394,566 |
| Composition | Nickel-brass (single metal) |
| Weight | 15.98 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995 |
| Designer | John Mills |
| Portrait | Maklouf |
Other 1995 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 United Nations £2 Coin | 1,668,575 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What does the edge of the 1995 dove £2 say?
It reads 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995. The words come from Churchill's moral for his history of the Second World War. The coin marked fifty years since the war ended; the dove on the reverse stands for peace.
Is the 1995 dove £2 rare?
Not really. More than 4.3 million were struck for circulation, a high number for the single-metal £2 coins of 1986 to 1996. Worn examples are face value coins, while sharp uncirculated ones bring a small premium from collectors.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.