1985 2p Coin
The 1985 2p is a 2p coin struck for circulation with 107.1 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1985
- Circulation mintage
- 107,113,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin)
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 1985 2p worth?
107.1 million were made, so the 1985 2p 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:
- Full original color
- A coin from a sets-only year
- A recognized variety or genuine error such as the 1983 NEW PENCE mule
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1985 2p rare?
- No. 107.1 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1985 2p coins were made?
- 107,113,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1985 2p made of?
- Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin). It weighs 7.12 g and measures 25.9 mm.
- Is the 1985 2p still legal tender?
- Yes. The 2p is legal tender, though 1p and 2p coins together only have to be accepted for payments up to 20p.
The 1985 2p coin in context
After three years with no 2p coins struck for circulation, 1985 brought the denomination back into change. It also brought a new portrait. Raphael Maklouf's effigy of the Queen, the third used on British coins during her reign, replaced Arnold Machin's on every denomination from 1985. So the 1985 2p marks two firsts at once: the first Maklouf 2p and the first TWO PENCE coin made for circulation.
The Royal Mint struck 107,113,000 that year, a modest total by the standards of the decade. Output rose quickly afterward, reaching 168,967,500 in 1986 and 218,100,750 in 1987. 1985 was also the first year without the half penny, which had been withdrawn at the end of 1984, leaving the penny and the 2p as Britain's only bronze coins. For many people, a 1985 2p was the first coin they saw with the new wording, three years after it had been introduced. That gives the date a small place in the story of the coin, even though it was struck in very large numbers.
How to recognize it
Maklouf's portrait shows the Queen wearing the George IV State Diadem, a more formal look than Machin's tiara. ELIZABETH II D G REG F D and the date run around it. The reverse is unchanged: Christopher Ironside's Prince of Wales's feathers rising from a coronet, the ICH DIEN ribbon, TWO PENCE above and the numeral 2 below. The coin is bronze, 25.9 mm across and 7.12 g with a plain edge, so it will not respond to a magnet. Side by side with a 1981 2p, both the portrait and the wording are different. It is the first 2p to show the Queen wearing a diadem rather than a tiara.
The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.
1985 2p by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1985 2p ranks 10th lowest of 45 2p dates and varieties from 1971 to 2021. The next scarcer is the 1992 Copper-Plated Steel 2p (102.2 million); the next more common is the 1977 2p (109.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1971 2p with 1.45 billion, about 14 times as many. The scarcest is the 2008 Old Reverse 2p with 10.6 million, 10 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1985 output was 3.3 times fewer than 1981 and 1.6 times fewer than 1986.
Over the 1980s the Mint produced 2.04 billion 2p coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1985 2p accounts for 5.3% of that.
What to check on your 1985 2p
- Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Try a magnet: bronze 2p coins do not stick to it. A coin that sticks is copper-plated steel from 1992 or later, so read the date again.
- Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.
A 1985 2p with ordinary wear is face value. The date has steady collector interest as the first year of the Maklouf portrait on the 2p and as the return of circulation production. Clean uncirculated coins can carry a small premium. Original red bronze is the target. Coins from the 1985 Royal Mint sets are the easiest source of a nice example, while coins from change are usually brown and worn. Watch for dark spots, which are common on bronze kept in damp tins for years.
Bronze TWO PENCE 2p (1982 to 1991)
When the word NEW disappeared from British coins in 1982, the 2p reverse was changed to read TWO PENCE above the Prince of Wales's feathers. The 2p then went through an odd spell. Pennies kept pouring out for circulation, but no 2p coins were struck for change in 1982, 1983 or 1984. The large runs of 1980 and 1981 appear to have left enough in circulation, so those three dates exist only in Royal Mint sets.
It was during this sets-only spell that one of the best known errors in decimal British coinage happened. Some 1983 sets contained a 2p struck with the old NEW PENCE reverse instead of TWO PENCE. Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen in a diadem replaced Machin's in 1985, the year circulation 2p coins came back with 107,113,000 struck. Output peaked at 419,889,000 in 1988 before tailing off to 86,625,250 in 1991, the lowest figure of any bronze 2p made for circulation.
Physically nothing changed in these years: bronze, 25.9 mm, 7.12 g, plain edge and no reaction to a magnet. For collectors, the sets-only dates and the 1983 error are the highlights. Circulation dates from 1985 to 1991 are face value when worn, though uncirculated red coins can carry a small premium. Bronze 2p coins tone to a deep brown over time. That is normal, while bright pink patches usually mean a coin has been cleaned and lost some of its appeal.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1985 |
| Circulation mintage | 107,113,000 |
| Composition | Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin) |
| Weight | 7.12 g |
| Diameter | 25.9 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Maklouf |
Frequently asked questions
Why was there no 2p in circulation from 1982 to 1984?
The Royal Mint made 2p coins for those dates only in sets. Large circulation runs dated 1980 and 1981 appear to have covered demand, so the next 2p coins struck for change were the 107,113,000 dated 1985.
Whose portrait is on the 1985 2p?
It is Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, showing her in the George IV State Diadem. It replaced Arnold Machin's portrait in 1985 and stayed on the 2p until 1997. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait took over in 1998.
Mintage figures: Two pence (British decimal coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.