How rare is the Royal Navy £2?
The Royal Navy £2 commemorates the Royal Navy’s efforts in World War One and is known as the 3rd rarest £2 coin in circulation.
The coin features a battleship design by military artist David Rowlands and the 5th portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but just 650,000 2015 Navy £2 coins were struck for circulation, making it very sought-after amongst collectors.
But you may have also heard about the small number of Royal Navy £2 coins which were issued to HMS Belfast and its visitor facilities in 2015 – 100 of them to be precise. The story was widely covered, including being featured by the BBC. Naturally plenty of excitement ensued amongst collectors, many of whom flocked to HMS Belfast in the hope of finding one.
The 100 Royal Navy £2 coins distributed at HMS Belfast all carry the Ian Rank-Broaldey FRBS portrait of the Queen
The distinguishing feature of these 100 coins is that they all carry the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley FRBS whereas those issued for general circulation later in the year then featured the Queen’s new portrait which was announced 2nd March 2015.
However, the Brilliant Uncirculated Royal Navy £2 packs which were originally made available in 2014 also feature Ian Rank-Broadley’s current effigy of the Queen, and there is nothing fundamentally different between these and the 100 issued to HMS Belfast.
Inevitably, scammers capitalised on these blurred lines and a large number of coins purporting to be from HMS Belfast started to crop up on eBay for extortionate amounts. Whilst we can’t prove or disprove the legitimacy of the listings it is nonsensical to bid on a coin which can in no way be authenticated as one of the 100 rare issues. And as we know, when it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable – the rarest coins are always in highest demand.
A Royal Navy £2 claiming to be from HMS Belfast selling on ebay for over £100
So although the dust has settled and the Navy £2 is no longer the talk of the town, it is still a staple coin for any collection (even without the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait) and if you come across one in your change, it might just be worth hanging on to!
Own the 3rd rarest £2 coin in circulation!
If you would like to own this rare Royal Navy £2 Coin, you can order yours today.
Are any 2 pound coins REALLY worth anything? And if so which ones?
Hi Kieron, you might find another of my blog posts on this topic helpful for identifying the rare £2 coins in circulation: http://blog.changechecker.org/2014/10/21/do-you-own-the-rarest-uk-coins-in-circulation-2/
The London coin company have listed (and sold) at least 8 coins with a postcard picture of HMS Belfast for sums in excess of £30, which is sharp practice Mr Lieberman!
I have just been informed by The Royal Mint customer services that this coin will not be struck with the 5th portrait….
Hi Rob, the Royal Navy £2 coins which are going into circulation later in the year will have the new portrait of the Queen. However, it is a possibility that the uncirculated Royal Navy £2 coin packs will not be struck with the new portrait. Perhaps that is what the Royal Mint were referring to when you spoke to them? Regards, Mark.
oh great so does this mean that this coin as will now be mass produced in the millions ,,
i jumped on the bandwagon and bought another three with the fourth portrait to put away as an investment
publicity stunt by the mint ,,, will just have to think twice in future when considering buying commemorate coins from the mint , might as well just wait and collect them in my change ,,
so what about the 50p with no denomination ,, are they going to to be sent out as is in change without the (FIFTY PENCE)
Oh well back to collecting old coins , you know where you stand with those
just had email from royal mint ,, its good news ,, the coin is to be released with the new effigy ( 5th portrait ) so panic over all the coins available now are the only ones with the fourth portrait and the coin will not be reminted with the fourth protrait , what coins have been made so far are the only ones ,, so snap em up ,, regards minting figures , they still wont release the figures for the bi metal ones but have released the figures for silver proof , silver gold proof , gold proof ,, these are
8500 silver proof
4000 silver and gold proof
750 gold
i asked what about the ones everyone wants to know 🙂 there remaining tight lipped , the question i asked its rumoured it will be lower than the kew gardens coin ,,
wouldn`t it be nice if the amount of coins matched the service men lost or injured from the navy as mentioned in presentation booklet with the coin ,,
i got back ,,, cannot comment on mintages ,,, however the prescious metal proofs are already known
so if im right a total run of 39,152 ,,, minus silver and gold proof coins ,,
25,902 bi metal mmmmmmmm
Hi Darran, I had a reply from Royal Mint CS ( Jane Clark) yesterday about which version of Queen portrait would be on awaiting stock coins (in presentation pack) and she stated: “…..I can confirm this coin will have the current portrait of The Queen, not the new (5th) portrait”.
this is what i got today , so looks like they will just keep producing them doesnt it , i bought a few for the grandchildren but there not going to be as rare as led to believe ,, all the hype , publicity stunt releasing the 100 marketing ploy on the mints side ,, well i suppose they are a business like any other .
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Hello
Thank you for your e-mail.
The Royal Navy coin available at present is the Brilliant Uncirculated quality coin that is sold in the presentation folder at £10. The circulation quality coin will bear the new effigy of the queen when it is issued into circulation probably sometime next year.
The Battle of Britain coin will bear the 50p denomination on the circulation coin as that is a requirement for circulating coin.
Regards
Elizabeth Knapgate
Customer Service Advisor
i buy and sell coins and myself purchased one of each of the new £2 coins and a fifty pence in presentation packs from the royal mint , i questioned a seller regards boasting he had number 13 and 14 of the 100 coins given for circulation on the hms belfast , his reply was ,,, was i buying , when i said i might , he replied that the shop assistant told him that was the number and they was keeping track of the coins ? .. regards selling the coins , its a good thing for people to make money , but i myself donate a percentage sometimes to . help our heroes , so anyone reading this blog and considering selling your coin , then spare a thought for the lost souls and those injured and those still fighting for our safety ..
also i have been pondering on the mintages of the coin , and come to this conclusion , as its a commemorative coin . wouldnt it be befitting to mint the figure of navy personel lost ,, i come up with this
32,287 lost navy personel
8500 silver proof
4000 silver and gold proof
750 gold
19 037 b i metal coins
100 on hms belfast
18 937 figure in presentation packs and coin sets
wild guess but wouldn`t that be a nice figure
darran … from hull
Mark
Totally agree with you – I was watching ebay and began to think people were probably splitting coins out of the packs – and was musing how you might be able to prove a coin was one of the 100….and how the museum itself was managing this. There is nothing on their website and I haven’t been able to get there so not sure – also in a partnership surely there should have been a way that the naval charities could benefit from the excess values people would be willing to pay?
By the way, the coin pack is presently out of stock at Royal Mint (or was yesterday) so you might wish to drop that out to people to help shift your stocks. This coin really deserves to be well appreciated by others – I’ve just bought three for presents for friends as my wife was in the Navy and has lots of Navy contacts who might appreciate this as a gift. But of course Royal Mint have also clearly said if there is demand for more of the packs they will produce more!
I’ve even seen the packs being sold on ebay for silly prices – how ridiculous. The same is true of the Royal Mint collecting books which are also still available!
Hi Ian, thanks for your comment. It’s encouraging to hear from collectors who are interested in the coin for its numismatic value rather than re-selling it on the secondary market. Of course there is nothing wrong with selling coins on, but we wholeheartedly agree with your opinion that if anyone should benefit out of profiteering from publicity like this, it should be the naval charities themselves. Regards, Mark.