Technology £2 Coins
The most common £2 coin in circulation is Technology £2 coin, which was issued in the many millions between 1997 and 2015. It is worth face value of £2.
| Year of Issue | Mintage Figures – In Circulation |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 13,734,625 |
| 1998 | 91,110,375 |
| 1999 | 33,719,000 |
| 2000 | 25,770,000 |
| 2001 | 34,984,750 |
| 2002 | 13,024,750 |
| 2003 | 17,531,250 |
| 2004 | 11,981,500 |
| 2005 | 3,873,250 |
| 2006 | 16,715,000 |
| 2007 | 10,270,000 |
| 2008 | 30,107,000 |
| 2009 | 8,715,000 |
| 2010 | 6,890,000 |
| 2011 | 24,375,030 |
| 2012 | 3,900,000 |
| 2013 | 15,860,250 |
| 2014 | 18,200,000 |
| 2015 | 35,360,058 |
| 1997 – 2015 | 416,121,838 |
In 2015 this was changed to the Britannia £2.
1997 £2 Coin Design Competition
Win £10,000!
After announcing that the reverse design of the 1997 Two Pounds coin would be chosen from entries to an open public competition advertised throughout the UK by conventional media and worldwide on the Internet, the British Royal Mint was surprised and pleased at the sheer scale of public interest and the volume of response.
Over 1,200 entries were received and, as with all new coin designs, the final selection was made after careful examination by an independent body known as the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Norfolk art teacher Bruce Rushin was travelling home from work when he heard the competition details broadcast on the radio, and spontaneously decided that he would channel some of his creative energy into producing a few coin designs.
Bruce Rushin’s design was eventually chosen as the winner. The design not only refers back to our ancestral roots but also places itself firmly in the present, while the astute design of the ever-radiating rings echoes the forward looking ideals of some of our greatest minds.
A FIRST FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM
The innovative 1997 United Kingdom Two Pounds coin breaks the mould of conventional coin design by setting three new milestones in British numismatic history:
- The FIRST ever base metal Two Pounds coin to be issued for general circulation
- The FIRST legal tender coin to be made of two separate components of differing alloys
- The FIRST British coin to incorporate a special latent feature as an inherent security device.
The intricate reverse design comprises four quite different, but complementary, concentric circles radiating outwards from the heart of the coin, and embodies mankind’s extraordinary drive, determination and creative genius.
THE DESIGN ELEMENTS
Representing the Iron Age, the inner disc carries the latent feature which, when the coin is tilted, changes the design of the metalwork pattern from a series of four separate whorls into a pattern featuring eight inter-twined whorls.
The first ring, with its arrangement of cogs, gears and wheels, represents the explosion of industrial development which is now referred to as the Industrial Revolution.
Symbolising the computer age, the final cupro-nickel ring is adorned with a pattern derived from a silicon chip, while the outer ring of nickel-brass, with its inter-connecting web of lines, represents the age of the Internet and the information superhighway.
The obverse carries the elegant portrait of Her Majesty the Queen by Raphael Maklouf.
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
The edge inscription encapsulates perfectly the essence of the reverse design of the new Two Pounds coins, and has been taken from a letter written by Sir Isaac Newton to fellow scientist Robert Hooke, where he very modestly claimed that his success had been built on the achievements of others:
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” With its continuing outward movement, the design of the 1997 two Pounds coin skillfully unites both past and present, and also alludes to the possibilities the future may hold.
Technology £2 COIN SPECIFICATIONS
Alloy: Inner disc: Cupro-nickel / Outer ring: Nickel-brass
Weight: 12.00 g
Diameter: 28.40 mm