This article looks at some of the £2 coins you may find in your change and we look at what is colloquially known as the 'scarcity index' of the 37 commemorative £2 coins issued by the Royal Mint for circulation from the 1999 Rugby World Cup through to the 2016 Shakespeare Trilogy.
We have not included the annual Technology / Standing on the Shoulder’s of Giants coins in this article.
Since 1999 all £2 coins issued for circulation by The Royal Mint consist of a gold coloured outer ring made from metal nickel-brass and a silver coloured cupro-nickel disc in the middle.
The 'scarcity index' in layman’s terms starts with how many of each coin did Royal Mint put into circulation, known as the mintage figures.
Whilst the scarcity index is a very good guide to the value of a coin, with the basic economics concept of supply and demand, this does not mean in all instances that the lower the mintage figures, the higher the value.
There are many other factors in play, which include, inter alia, not just the age and condition of the coin, but also the sentimental value to a collector.
The older the coin, the more likely there will be less still in circulation, either through being lost or no longer being in a condition to be used as payment for goods or services.
The most contrasting example of this concept can be seen with the current market values of the 2015 HMS Navy Belfast and Britannia coins.
With the equal third lowest mintage figures of 650,000, when compared to the 2002 England Commonwealth Games coin, with the fifth lowest mintage figures of 771,750, why does a comparable condition England coin sell for at least 3 to 4 times the price than the 2015 coins?
This presumably we can only assume is in the main due to the fact that the England coins were issued 13 years earlier and by the time the 2015 coins were issued the vast majority had already been snapped up by eager coin collectors.
Whilst we must caveat this article that we cannot give investment advice, maybe in a few years’ time we might see an equivalent phenomenon with the value of these 2015 coins.
So let’s take a look at the underlying data, the 2 tables below present these 37 commemorative coins in date issuance and mintage order.
In Date Order (Oldest First)
| Commemoration | Year | Mintage |
| Rugby World Cup | 1999 | 4,933,000 |
| Marconi's First Wireless Transmission | 2001 | 4,558,000 |
| Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland | 2002 | 485,500 |
| Commonwealth Games Wales | 2002 | 588,500 |
| Commonwealth Games England | 2002 | 650,500 |
| Commonwealth Games Scotland | 2002 | 771,750 |
| Discovery of DNA | 2003 | 4,299,000 |
| Trevithick First Steam Locomotive | 2004 | 5,004,500 |
| Gunpowder Plot | 2005 | 5,140,500 |
| St Paul's End of World War II | 2005 | 10,191,000 |
| Brunel Achievements Paddington Station | 2006 | 7,452,250 |
| Brunel The Man Portrait | 2006 | 7,928,250 |
| Act of Union | 2007 | 7,545,000 |
| Abolition of the Slave Trade | 2007 | 8,445,000 |
| London Olympics Centenary | 2008 | 910,000 |
| Beijing to London Olympics Handover | 2008 | 918,000 |
| Robert Burns | 2009 | 3,253,000 |
| Charles Darwin | 2009 | 3,903,000 |
| Florence Nightingale | 2010 | 6,175,000 |
| King James Bible | 2011 | 975,000 |
| Mary Rose | 2011 | 1,040,000 |
| London to Rio Olympics Handover | 2012 | 845,000 |
| Charles Dickens | 2012 | 8,190,000 |
| London Underground Roundel | 2013 | 1,560,000 |
| London Underground Train | 2013 | 1,690,000 |
| Anniversary of the Guinea | 2013 | 2,990,000 |
| Trinity House | 2014 | 3,705,000 |
| First World War Centenary | 2014 | 5,720,000 |
| Navy - HMS Belfast | 2015 | 650,000 |
| Magna Carta | 2015 | 1,495,000 |
| Britannia | 2015 | 650,000 |
| Shakespeare Comedies | 2016 | 4,355,000 |
| Shakespeare Histories | 2016 | 5,655,000 |
| Shakespeare Tragedies | 2016 | 4,615,000 |
| Great Fire of London | 2016 | 1,625,000 |
| Britannia | 2016 | 2,925,000 |
| First World War Army PALS | 2016 | 9,550,000 |
| Commemoration | Year | Mintage |
| Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland | 2002 | 485,500 |
| Commonwealth Games Wales | 2002 | 588,500 |
| Commonwealth Games England | 2002 | 650,500 |
| Navy - HMS Belfast | 2015 | 650,000 |
| Britannia | 2005 | 650,000 |
| Commonwealth Games Scotland | 2002 | 771,750 |
| London to Rio Olympics Handover | 2012 | 845,000 |
| London Olympics Centenary | 2008 | 910,000 |
| Beijing to London Olympics Handover | 2008 | 918,000 |
| King James Bible | 2011 | 975,000 |
| Mary Rose | 2011 | 1,040,000 |
| Magna Carta | 2015 | 1,495,000 |
| London Underground - The Roundel | 2013 | 1,560,000 |
| Great Fire of London | 2016 | 1,625,000 |
| London Underground - The Train | 2013 | 1,690,000 |
| Britannia | 2016 | 2,925,000 |
| Anniversary of the Guinea | 2013 | 2,990,000 |
| Robert Burns | 2009 | 3,253,000 |
| Trinity House | 2014 | 3,705,000 |
| Charles Darwin | 2009 | 3,903,000 |
| Discovery of DNA | 2003 | 4,299,000 |
| Shakespeare Comedies | 2016 | 4,355,000 |
| Marconi's First Wireless Transmission | 2001 | 4,558,000 |
| Shakespeare Tragedies | 2016 | 4,615,000 |
| Rugby World Cup | 1999 | 4,933,000 |
| Trevithick First Steam Locomotive | 2004 | 5,004,500 |
| Gunpowder Plot | 2005 | 5,140,500 |
| Shakespeare Histories | 2016 | 5,655,000 |
| First World War Centenary | 2014 | 5,720,000 |
| Florence Nightingale | 2010 | 6,175,000 |
| Brunel Achievements Paddington Station | 2006 | 7,452,250 |
| Act of Union | 2007 | 7,545,000 |
| Brunel The Man Portrait | 2006 | 7,928,250 |
| Charles Dickens | 2012 | 8,190,000 |
| Abolition of the Slave Trade | 2007 | 8,445,000 |
| First World War Army PALS | 2016 | 9,550,000 |
| St Paul's End of World War II | 2005 | 10,191,000 |
Why have you not published your Scarcity Index?
As we have hopefully pre-positioned, the value of a £2 coin cannot be set out in a formula.
It is more of an art than a science, and over time factors and dimensions change.
There are numerous publications of scarcity indices available on the internet so if you wish to look at this more closely they are easy to find.
But what we can categorically state is that the coin with the lowest mintage figures most certainly tops the chart as the most expensive to buy, at more than twice the price of the second most valuable.
There are other £2 coins that command a high price, we will cover the old style pre-1999 and Not Issued For Circulation (NIFC) coins in due course.
Which is the most expensive of these 37 coins today?
The 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 coin is officially the most scarce of these however you’d be forgiven for thinking that this coin is easy to identify.
If you are thinking of buying one of the 4 different issues of the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games coins please be well aware that it is not easy to spot the difference between the 4 different country flag coins, especially between the Northern Ireland and England coins.
You might find you think you have bought a Northern Ireland coin which on first sight looks to be the case but it can be so easily found to be England one, which in current market price terms is 3 to 4 times lower in value.
So how do you distinguish between them?
The flags are the only difference in these coins, and at less than 1mm in size it is not easy to distinguish with the naked eye which flag it is, which given the usual wear and tear on these now 20 years old coins they all start to look very similar.
The ONLY difference between England’s 'St George Cross' flag and Northern Ireland’s 'Ulster Banner' flag is the 'Red Hand of Ulster', the star and crown which feature at the centre.
We highly recommend the use of a powerful magnifying instrument if you want to ensure your investment is sound.
Reputable sellers will use a photoscope to take close up pictures of a Northern Ireland coin to show that it is the genuine item.
Where Can You Buy the 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 Coins?
Some online platforms sell the Commonwealth £2 coins in circulated condition, including eBay and other auction sites. Just the usual warning when buying from auction sites, please buy from reputable suppliers with good feedback.
If you prefer not to buy on eBay, you can buy £2 coins from ourselves by clicking here
Please note, this coin is no longer available at the Royal Mint but to see which coins are please visit their website.