2020 Agatha Christie £2 Coin
The 2020 Agatha Christie £2 is a Royal Mint collector issue that was never released into circulation. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2020
- Issued as
- Collector packs and sets only
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- David Lawrence
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 2020 Agatha Christie £2 worth?
This design was never released into circulation. The Royal Mint sold it in brilliant uncirculated packs and annual sets, so almost every example is a collector piece. One found in change is still legal tender at 2 pounds; out of its pack it brings a small premium at most, while a coin still sealed in its original packaging is what collectors want.
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 2020 Agatha Christie £2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £2 coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.
- How many 2020 Agatha Christie £2 coins were made?
- None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.
- Who designed the 2020 Agatha Christie £2?
- The design is credited to David Lawrence.
- What is the 2020 Agatha Christie £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2020 Agatha Christie £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2020 Agatha Christie £2 was made
Agatha Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920. She wrote it after working in a hospital dispensary during the First World War, where she picked up the knowledge of poisons that runs through so many of her plots. The book introduced Hercule Poirot, the fastidious Belgian detective who went on to appear in dozens of her novels and short stories. Christie became one of the best selling novelists in history. Her play The Mousetrap opened in London in 1952 and has run there ever since, apart from a pause during the pandemic. The Royal Mint marked a century of her murder mysteries with this two-pound coin in 2020.
You won't have been given this coin by a bank. The Royal Mint sold the Christie £2 to collectors only, as a brilliant uncirculated coin in a pack and in the 2020 annual sets. Any example in change was bought by a collector and then spent. If it reaches you that way, it's still a legal tender £2 and can be used for its face value of two pounds.
How to recognize it
David Lawrence's design is a puzzle in itself. Interlocking puzzle pieces fill the center, a neat image for stories built on fitting clues together, while 100 YEARS OF MYSTERY 1920 - 2020 runs around it. There's no portrait of Christie and no picture of Poirot; the idea of the puzzle does the work. The edge reads LITTLE GREY CELLS, the phrase Poirot uses for the brain power he relies on to solve his cases. The edge keeps its British spelling because it's an inscription. The obverse carries Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark. Puzzle pieces plus that edge make identification simple.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2020 Agatha Christie £2 by the numbers
No circulation mintage exists for the 2020 Agatha Christie £2 because none were released to banks. The Royal Mint's other collector-only £2 coins dated 2020 were Mayflower, VE Day 75 and Captain Cook III.
No commemorative £2 dated 2020 was released for circulation, which is why so many people hunting change for new designs never see this one.
What to check on your 2020 Agatha Christie £2
- Read the edge. It should say LITTLE GREY CELLS. A wrong or missing edge inscription is the quickest sign of a counterfeit.
- Check the two metals: a silver-colored center and a gold-colored ring, with the ring tight and level all the way around.
- Weigh it: a genuine two-metal £2 weighs 12.0 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.
Since none were struck for circulation, the Christie £2 is a far less common find in change than the commemoratives the Royal Mint sent through banks. Crime fiction fans buy it as well as coin collectors, which keeps demand steady. Pack-fresh coins draw a collector premium; worn ones a small premium. Pay attention to the fine edges of the puzzle pieces, which blur first with wear. On a real coin the edge lettering is crisp and the center sits snugly inside the outer ring without a raised lip.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2020 |
| Circulation mintage | None (collector issue) |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: LITTLE GREY CELLS |
| Designer | David Lawrence |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2020 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 Mayflower £2 Coin | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2020 VE Day 75 £2 Coin | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2020 Captain Cook III £2 Coin | Collector issue | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
What does LITTLE GREY CELLS mean on the Agatha Christie £2?
It's Hercule Poirot's favorite way of describing his own brain power, which he relies on to solve crimes. The Royal Mint used it as the edge inscription on this 2020 coin marking 100 years of Christie's mysteries.
Was the Agatha Christie £2 put into circulation?
No. It was sold only in brilliant uncirculated packs and the 2020 annual sets. If you find one in change, a collector spent it. It remains legal tender at two pounds like any other £2 coin.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.