1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p Coin
The 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p is a 2p coin struck for circulation with 115.2 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1998
- Circulation mintage
- 115,154,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Copper-plated steel
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 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p worth?
115.2 million were made, so the 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 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 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p rare?
- No. 115.2 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p coins were made?
- 115,154,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p made of?
- Copper-plated steel. It weighs 7.12 g and measures 25.9 mm.
- Is the 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 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 1998 2p coin in context
The steel 2p of 1998 is the version most people find. The Royal Mint struck 115,154,000 of them, more than the 98,676,000 bronze coins of the same date. It was the seventh year of steel 2p production and the first with Ian Rank-Broadley's new portrait of the Queen, which replaced Raphael Maklouf's after thirteen years.
Output in 1998 was low for the decade. The 1997 2p had a mintage of 496,116,000 and the 1999 coin 353,816,000, so even with both metals counted, 1998 sits well below its neighbors. The two-metal split gives the date extra interest. Anyone sorting a jar of 1998 2p coins with a magnet will soon find both versions. The steel coin is also the start of a long run of Rank-Broadley 2p coins that lasted until 2015. Every circulation coin among them after 1998 is steel, so this date marks the moment the portrait and the metal settled into the pattern that held for the next eighteen years. Sorting a jar of 1998 coins is a good way to see that change for yourself.
How to recognize it
This is the copper-plated steel version: a steel core coated in copper, 25.9 mm across, 7.12 g and with a plain edge. It sticks to a magnet. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait shows the Queen in a tiara with his initials IRB below the bust. The reverse carries Christopher Ironside's Prince of Wales's feathers with TWO PENCE above. Under good light, a new steel coin often looks slightly brighter and more salmon-pink than bronze, but that difference fades quickly with handling. Worn steel coins can also show tiny spots where the plating has broken. Those spots are damage, not a variety of any kind.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p ranks 12th lowest of 45 2p dates and varieties from 1971 to 2021. The next scarcer is the 1977 2p (109.3 million); the next more common is the 2021 2p (117.7 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1971 2p with 1.45 billion, about 13 times as many. The scarcest is the 2008 Old Reverse 2p with 10.6 million, 11 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1998 output was 4.3 times fewer than 1997 and 3.1 times fewer than 1999. Other 1998 2p coins: 1998 Bronze 2p (98.7 million).
Over the 1990s the Mint produced 2.65 billion 2p coins across 12 dates and varieties; the 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p accounts for 4.4% of that.
What to check on your 1998 Copper-Plated Steel 2p
- Confirm the date and the variety (copper-plated steel). Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Try a magnet: 1998 2p coins are copper-plated steel and stick to it. A 1998 coin that does not stick is worth a closer look.
- 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 1998 steel 2p from change is face value. Its main interest is as the partner to the bronze coin and as the first steel 2p with the Rank-Broadley portrait. Bright coins with unbroken plating can carry a small premium. Look out for rust spots and lifting plating on coins kept in damp places, which collectors avoid. A pair of 1998 coins, one of each metal, makes a neat display. Both versions are face value when worn, so building the pair costs nothing beyond the coins themselves.
Copper-plated steel 2p with the feathers (1992 to 2007)
In 1992 the 2p followed the penny into copper-plated steel. Bronze had become a costly material for a coin of such low value, so the Royal Mint switched to a steel core with a copper skin. The 1992 2p exists in both metals, but the bronze version was made only for that year's Royal Mint sets; the coins struck for change were steel. The new coins kept the 25.9 mm diameter and 7.12 g weight, so machines and counting scales were not affected. The one obvious difference is that steel coins are magnetic.
The switch was not a clean break. In 1998 the 2p was struck in bronze as well as steel, giving collectors a second date to check with a magnet. That year also brought Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait, replacing Raphael Maklouf's, which had been used since 1985. Ironside's feathers and the TWO PENCE wording continued throughout. Output climbed to 536,659,000 in 2000 and to 551,880,000 in 2001, the highest 2p figures of any dates apart from 1971.
Most 2p coins of this period are steel and face value when worn. Two dates deserve a magnet test: 1992 and 1998. Steel coins also show their age in their own way, with rust spots, pink scratches where the plating is cut and flaking on badly stored pieces. Those are damage, not errors. They lower a coin's appeal. Collectors look for bright coins with full feather detail, or uncirculated examples from Royal Mint sets.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1998 |
| Circulation mintage | 115,154,000 |
| Composition | Copper-plated steel |
| Weight | 7.12 g |
| Diameter | 25.9 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 1998 2p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 Bronze 2p Coin | 98,676,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
How many steel 1998 2p coins were made?
The data records 115,154,000 copper-plated steel 2p coins dated 1998, alongside 98,676,000 in bronze. The steel version is the more plentiful of the two, but both are common and worn examples of either are face value.
Which 1998 2p do you have?
Use a magnet. If it sticks, you have the copper-plated steel coin. If it doesn't, it is the bronze version. Both carry Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait and the Prince of Wales's feathers, so the design won't help you tell them apart.
Mintage figures: Two pence (British decimal coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.