The lowest-mintage £2 coins
Here are the circulation mintages under about a million. Everything else in the £2 tables below was made in larger numbers.
- 1989 Claim of Right: 381,400
- 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland: 485,500
- 2002 Commonwealth Games Wales: 588,500
- 2015 Royal Navy: 650,000
- 2002 Commonwealth Games England: 650,500
- 2002 Commonwealth Games Scotland: 771,750
- 2012 London to Rio Handover: 845,000
- 2008 London Olympics 1908 centenary: 910,000
- 2008 Olympic Handover to London: 918,000
- 2011 King James Bible: 975,000
- 2011 Mary Rose: 1,040,000
The 20 lowest mintage circulating £2 coins
The 1989 Claim of Right
Two £2 coins marked the tercentenary of 1689 that year. The Bill of Rights version had 4,392,825 made, while the Scottish Claim of Right got 381,400. Both are one-metal coins that were rarely spent, so most survivors come from drawers and old sets. If yours names the Claim of Right, check it carefully for wear.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games set
For the Manchester games the Royal Mint issued four versions of Matthew Bonaccorsi's athlete design, one for each nation of the UK, told apart by the flag. They share the edge SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP, MANCHESTER 2002. Collectors want all four. Northern Ireland, at 485,500, is the one that's hardest to complete.
Royal Navy, Olympic handovers and the 2011 pair
The 2015 Royal Navy coin belongs to a run of First World War centenary designs, yet it was struck in far smaller numbers than the 2016 Army coin with 9,550,000. The 2008 and 2012 handover coins mark the Games passing to London and then to Rio. Both carry the edge I CALL UPON THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD.
In 2011 two low-mintage coins came out together: the King James Bible, edge THE AUTHORISED VERSION, alongside the Mary Rose, edge YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511. Neither is scarce enough to be a key, but both are worth pulling from change.
How to spot a counterfeit £2
Fakes exist and the £2 is a target. Run through these checks before you treat a coin as special.
- Edge: lettering should be crisp, evenly spaced and correct for that design
- Colors: the center should be silver-colored and the ring gold-colored, with a clean join between them
- Detail: the portrait and design should be sharp, not mushy or flat
- Date and portrait: they must match a real combination in the tables below
- Weight: a genuine two-metal £2 weighs 12 grams; a kitchen scale that reads to a tenth of a gram helps
What these coins are really worth
Even the scarcest £2 coins were made in the hundreds of thousands, so none of them is a fortune in your pocket. The Claim of Right and the Northern Ireland coin carry a collector premium in good condition, while most of the others on this list bring a small premium at best. Worn coins sit closer to face value.
Treat online listings with care. A seller can ask anything. The highest asking prices hang around precisely because nobody pays them, so completed sales of coins in the same condition as yours are the only useful guide.
Frequently asked questions
What's the rarest £2 coin in circulation?
The 1989 Claim of Right at 381,400 is the lowest overall. Of the two-tone coins, the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland has the smallest mintage at 485,500.
Is the Royal Navy £2 rare?
It's scarce for a two-tone £2, with 650,000 made in 2015. In circulated condition it carries a small premium; sharp examples do better.
How can you tell if your £2 is fake?
Check that the edge inscription matches the design, the lettering and portrait are sharp, the two metals meet cleanly and the coin weighs about 12 grams. Anything off on two or more of these is a warning sign.
Are Olympic £2 coins valuable?
The 2008 handover, the 2008 London 1908 coin and the 2012 Rio handover all had mintages under a million. They're scarcer than most, though still nowhere near true rarities.
Is a £2 with the edge upside down rare?
No. The edge is lettered before striking, so the text can sit either way up. It's normal.
Mintage figures from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint and Royal Australian Mint figures. Sources.