Mint marks 25 years of revolutionary £2 UK coin
A NEW collectable £2 coin bearing the same design as the first version of the coin designed 25 years ago has been unveiled by the Royal Mint.
Artist Bruce Rushin, who created the 1997 bi-metallic design, visited the Llantrisantbased Mint to celebrate the launch of the new version.
He said: “It was an astonishing feeling when my design was selected to appear on the first ever UK £2 coin.
“Twenty-five years later, it is an honour to have my design feature once again on the collectable £2 coin celebrating its anniversary.”
The need for a £2 coin emerged after a review of UK coinage in 1994.
A consultation process took place and opinion favoured a two-coloured coin, which would be easily distinguishable from others in circulation.
Mr Rushin was the winning artist in a competition to design the new coin.
Inspired by the history of technological achievement, Mr Rushin’s 1997 design features four concentric circles, depicting industrial and technological progress from the Iron Age to the internet.
The design features on circulating £2 coins dated 1997 to 2015. It has been released for the new commemorative edition and enhanced with special features.
A latent feature has been added to the design to reveal the number “25” within the central cog when it catches the light.
The Mint also said that state-ofthe-art laser technology had been used to achieve a sharper detail than the milling machine used in 1997.
Struck for the 2022 anniversary, the commemorative edition bears the fifth coinage portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse side of the coin.
The Mint said this was the first time in the history of the £2 coin that the portrait by Jody Clark featured on the opposite side of the design.
The Royal Mint has committed to releasing coins dated 2022 bearing the Queen’s portrait to ensure a sustainable transition to coinage featuring the King.
Prices for the anniversary edition of the £2 coin range from £12 for a brilliant uncirculated version to £1,225 for a gold coin.