Britannia £2 Coin (2015 to 2022)
The Britannia £2 is the everyday £2 reverse from 2015 to 2022. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2015 to 2022
- Circulation mintage
- 13,650,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring
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 Britannia £2 worth?
The everyday Britannia £2 is worth face value in circulated condition. The exceptions are the dates struck only for collector sets (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020), which were never issued to banks and turn up in change only when someone spends a set coin.
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 Britannia £2 rare?
- No. 13.7 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many Britannia £2 coins were made?
- 13,650,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the Britannia £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the Britannia £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
The story of the Britannia £2
Britannia has been a figure on British coins for centuries, first appearing on copper coins under Charles II. Over time she became the best known symbol of the nation on its money, usually shown with a trident and shield. She sat on the reverse of the 50p from 1969 until 2008, when the shield designs took over the definitive coins. In 2015 she came back as the new definitive design for the £2, replacing Bruce Rushin's Technology reverse after nearly two decades in use.
The design is by Antony Dufort. His Britannia is a modern take on the old figure, standing with her trident and shield. She arrived in the same year as Jody Clark's fifth portrait of the Queen, so the Britannia £2 started life with the new obverse. The edge reads QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO, Latin for roughly 'I claim the four seas', a nod to Britain's long naval past and the seas around the British Isles. It made a fitting pairing with a figure who has stood for Britain's sea power since the seventeenth century.
Like the Technology coin, the Britannia £2 kept the same 28.4 mm size and the same two metals throughout its run, a cupronickel center inside a nickel-brass ring. What did change was demand for new coins. The Royal Mint struck none of this design for circulation from 2017 to 2020, so those dates exist only in collector sets. Production for circulation resumed in 2021 and continued in 2022. After the Queen's death in 2022 the Britannia reverse was succeeded under King Charles III by a new £2 showing the national flowers.
How to recognize it
Britannia stands holding a trident and a shield, drawn in a looser, more modern style than the seated figure many people remember from the old 50p. The figure dominates the reverse, so the central image is all you need to identify the design at a glance. The edge reads QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO on genuine coins. Every date from 2015 to 2022 carries Queen Elizabeth II's portrait on the obverse, so the design never appeared with King Charles III. If your £2 shows Britannia but the edge lettering is different or missing, look again: it may be a commemorative of another design or a fake. Antony Dufort designed it.
Over the run the other side carried the portraits of the monarch by Jody Clark, so the date and portrait together tell you which year you have.
Britannia £2 by the numbers
Across 4 circulation dates the Royal Mint struck 13.7 million Britannia £2 coins. The biggest year was 2021 with 6.04 million; the smallest circulation year was 2015 with 650,000, about 9.3 times fewer.
4 dates were struck only for collector sets: 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Those are the dates to look for in change, because every one found there was spent from a set.
What to check on your Britannia £2
- Read the edge. The lettering should match the design. 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.
The low points in this design's run are the years that never reached change at all. The dates 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 had none struck for circulation, so they come only from Royal Mint collector sets. A loose one most likely came out of a broken set. Among circulation years, 2015 is lowest at 650,000, followed by 2016 at 2,925,000, while 2021 at 6,045,000 and 2022 at 4,030,000 are more plentiful. Worn coins of the circulating dates are face value, while set-only dates in good condition interest collectors far more. Fake £2 coins exist, so check the edge, the two metal colors, a tight center and a crisp figure.
Britannia £2 mintage by year
| Year | Circulation mintage |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 650,000 |
| 2016 | 2,925,000 |
| 2017 | Sets only |
| 2018 | Sets only |
| 2019 | Sets only |
| 2020 | Sets only |
| 2021 | 6,045,000 |
| 2022 | 4,030,000 |
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2015 to 2022 |
| Circulation mintage | 13,650,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2015 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 Magna Carta £2 Coin | 1,495,000 | Face value |
| 2015 Royal Navy £2 Coin | 650,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2015 Britannia £2 rare?
It has the lowest circulation figure of the design's circulating years, 650,000, so it is the scarcest Britannia date you're likely to meet in change. It isn't a great rarity, but it is worth keeping an eye out for.
Why are 2017 to 2020 Britannia £2 coins hard to find?
None were struck for circulation in those years. The Royal Mint produced them only for collector sets, so the few that reach change were almost certainly taken out of a set and spent.
What does QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO mean?
It's Latin, usually translated as 'I claim the four seas'. On the Britannia £2 edge it links the figure of Britannia to the seas around the British Isles and the country's long naval history.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.