How much is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 worth? Is it rare?

In 1999, the Royal Mint commemorated the Rugby World Cup on a £2 coin but how much is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coin worth today?

According to the latest online marketplaces and retailers, a circulated version of this coin, which is now 23 years old, sells for around £3.20, but other versions of the coins may be worth a lot more.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth rugby world cup to be held and the sport's first professional competition after its declaration in 1995. It was officially hosted by Wales with the opening ceremony, the first game taking place on October 1, 1999 and the final being held at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on November 6 1999. As well as Wales, several of the games were played across England, Scotland, Ireland and France.

A total of twenty countries participated in the Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis. Wales were knocked out of the competition during the quarter-finals losing to eventual winners Australia, who beat France in the final, with the score of 35-12.

The Sport of Rugby

It is widely believed that the sport of rugby originated at the Rugby School in Warwickshire, in England in 1823. William Webb Ellis was the player who is credited for inventing the game when he decided to pick up a ball and run during a football match. Because of this, the World Cup trophy is named in his honour.

The Rugby World Cup started in 1987 but rugby was only recognised as a professional sport in 1995, played by amateurs before this.

Let's take a look at how rare the coin is and what other versions of the coin were issued by the Royal Mint in 1999.

The Design of the Coin

The reverse design is by medalist and sculptor Ron Dutton. It represents a stadium with a large rugby ball and a goalpost behind it, equally framed above and below the ball.

The stadium, possibly the Millenium stadium where the final was held, is round with scalloped edges and has raised dots in between to represent the fans inside the stadium.

The image is encircled 6 more goalposts with the date 1999, at the top of the coin, and the words TWO POUNDS around the bottom.

The designer’s initials RD appear under on the goalpost located next to the “S” in “POUNDS” on the right hand side of the design. The Obverse designer is Ian Rank-Broadley which depicts the Fourth Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

Ian Rank Broadley's initials, IRB, appear under the head of the Queen.

A feature of £2 coins, there is a milled edge to the coin with an inscription incused around the milled edge. The 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coin is an inscription that reads 'RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999'.

This coin was the first commemorative bi-metallic £2 coin to be produced. From the first issue of bi-metallic £2 coin issued in 1997, this had a design known as the Technology reverse design and this design was the 'normal' £2 design that was used up until 2015, when Britannia was then placed on the definitive two pound coin.

Mintage of the Coin

There are 4,933,000 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coins in circulation. The coins released from circulation can still be found in your change today, accounting for about 1 in 269 of the two-pound coins in circulation. This is not particularly low for a £2 coin.

The Royal Mint also released other versions of the Rugby £2 coin that were uncirculated and intended for coin collectors. Just under 10,000 Silver Proof coins, 10,000 Silver Proof Piedfort versions and only 311 Gold proof versions were issued as well as brilliant uncirculated packs issued. The Gold proof version is currently worth around £900 and comes in an elegant green presentation box.

Is The Rugby World Cup £2 Rare?

The Rugby £2 coin had a mintage of just under 5 million, which is fairly high for a £2 coin. Because of this,the coin is not considered to be rare and you are likely to find it in your change today, despite it being in circulation for over 23 years.

It is of a similar mintage as the 2005 Gunpowder Plot which had a mintage of 5,140,500 and 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 coin which had a mintage of 4,615,000.

How much is the Rugby Two Pound coin worth?

According to the most recent sold values on eBay in 2022, the 1999 Rugby £2 coin sells for around £4.00 in circulated condition excluding postage and packaging and fees to be paid by a seller. A coin in better condition would sell for more.

The Rugby £2 coins have been in circulation for 23 years, so will be in used condition so expect some damage to the coin. Of course, brilliant uncirculated (or BU / BUNC versions as they are known) of this coin will sell for significantly more.

Where can I buy the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 Coin?

You can buy the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coin online on auction sites such as eBay or Amazon but please ensure you look at all the information and reputation of the seller. As we said we expect this coin to be selling for around £4 plus postage so be wary of any listings trying to sell this circulated coin for more than £10.

You can also buy this coin from Copes Coins.

Unfortunately, as this coin is now over 23 years old, the Royal Mint no longer stock this coin so it is only available to buy on the secondary market.

Are there any known errors of this coin?

No official errors have been issued by the Royal Mint but we have heard of some sellers saying they have an error coin saying the inscription, the wording, around the milled edge of the coin is upside down.

It is true that the wording can be one of two ways, but this is just the way that the coins are made. It all depends which way the planchet (the plain metal disc from which a coin is made) enters the machine. So in theory, there's a 50/50 chance of the writing being one way or the other. This is not an error and all £2 coins are made this way.

Collectors do like to collect coins with the writing a particular way or both ways!

The 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coin is a great way to commemorate the first ever Rugby World Cup. It's also an excellent collectible for rugby fans and discerning currency collector.