Posts Tagged ‘£2’
Upcoming King Charles III Coins! What we know so far…
Since the release of the New UK Coinage for King Charles III in October 2023, collectors have been eagerly awaiting new UK issues featuring His Majesty.
And so, I’m delighted to tell you everything we know so far about the King Charles III commemorative coins we have to look forward to, according to the UK’s latest Royal Proclamations.
Upcoming 50p Releases
Harry Potter 50p
Following the extremely popular 4-coin Harry Potter 50p series and the subsequent Winged Keys and Black Lake 50ps, we can expect to see two more 50ps issued to celebrate the Wizarding World.
Image Credit: Karen Roe from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK, via Wikimedia Commons
What we know so far is that the latest Harry Potter 50ps will feature:
(a) a depiction of a flying car accompanied by the inscription “THE FLYING CAR”;
(b) a depiction of Harry Potter casting a spell accompanied by the inscription
“EXPECTO PATRONUM”
Upcoming £2 Releases
RSS Discovery
Following the popularity of the 2025 HMS Belfast £2, The Royal Mint are releasing a new £2 coin celebrating another iconic vessel.
Image Credit: Ed Marin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Here’s what we know from the latest Royal Proclamation:
‘for the reverse, a depiction of RRS Discovery with a whale tail and two penguins accompanied by the inscription “RRS DISCOVERY”. The coins shall have a plain or a milled edge and in incuse letters the inscription “· DESIGNED FOR ADVENTURE”.’
First Passenger Steam Journey
Both of the £2 coins that featured in the 2025 Annual Coin Set will be individually issued later in the year. The first commemorates the first passenger steam train journey on Locomotion No. 1.
The design captures the ground breaking moment in 1825, with a design featuring Locomotion Number 1 in action, packed with excited passengers and the inscription ‘The Journey that changed the world’, along with the years 1825-2025.
Royal Observatory Greenwich
The second £2 coin from the 2025 Annual Set celebrates 350 years of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
The reverse design features the Shepherd Gate Clock, the constellation Ursa Minor, the star Polaris and the meridian line in front of a globe. The coin also includes the edge inscription ‘PERFECTING THE ART OF NAVIGATION’, taken from the Observatory’s founding Royal Warrant.
Upcoming £5 Releases
John Lennon
The next icon to be celebrated in The Royal Mint’s Music Legends series is none other than The Beatles superstar, John Lennon. This follows the 2024 Paul McCartney £5 that was issued in December 2024.
Image Credit: Tony Barnard, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What we know so far is that the coin will feature a depiction of John Lennon accompanied by the inscriptions “JOHN LENNON” and “IMAGINE”.
Queen Mother £5 – Not for individual release
The Queen Mother £5 was issued as part of the 2025 Annual Set to mark 125 since her birth. The reverse design of the coin features a depiction of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the garter star and Queen Elizabeth’s cypher, surrounded by a Scottish Thistle and an English Rose.
Unlike the other coins in the 2025 Annual Set, this coin will not be individually issued and so the only way to get your hands on it is in the 2025 Annual Coin Set.
Never miss a future UK coin issue!
With such exciting releases on the horizon, you really won’t want to miss out on these incredible new coins. So why not take away the worry and guarantee yourself every new UK coin issue, without the hassle of placing orders on launch day?
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and be one of the first to receive new UK coins as soon as they are released! Plus, save £3 on new UK 50p issues with the special subscription price of £5.99 (+p&p).
First individual King Charles III £2 coin featuring Edward Jenner!
The incredible life and legacy of British physician, Edward Jenner, has been celebrated on a brand new UK £2 coin!
Plus, this brand new coin release becomes the first individual King Charles III £2 to be issued in the UK!
Secure yours here for £9.99 (+p&p) >>
Edward Jenner celebrated on new UK £2
Physician to King George, Jenner pioneered the creation of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine – the world’s first vaccine! His incredible work led to the worldwide eradication of smallpox, a huge feat in Britain’s history.
Credit: John Raphael Smith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This UK issue also marks 200 years since his passing, and becomes the second £2 coin in The Royal Mint’s Innovation in Science series.
On the reverse of the coin, Henry Gray’s unique design represents Edward Jenner’s crucial contribution to the world of vaccines. Plus, personally approved by His Majesty the King, Martin Jennings’ King Charles III effigy adorns the obverse.
What’s more, as this is the first individual UK £2 coin to feature King Charles III’s portrait, it’s likely to be increasingly sought-after by collectors…
So don’t miss out on adding the 2023 UK Edward Jenner £2 to your collection! Order yours today in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for £9.99 (+p&p) – click here to order yours >>
Alexander Graham Bell £2
This new release follows the Alexander Graham Bell £2 coin in The Royal Mint’s science series. Initially released in the 2022 Annual Coin Set, this issue saw huge popularity – find out more here >>
And, with a design depicting buttons of a telephone with a message hidden amongst the keypad letters, it’s no surprise that it was voted Change Checker’s favourite 2022 Annual Coin Design!
Stephen Hawking 50p
But the Alexander Graham Bell £2 wasn’t the first UK science coin to capture collectors’ attention. The Stephen Hawking 50p, issued in 2019, saw worldwide interest and SOLD OUT at The Royal Mint within mere hours of release!
And, not only was this popular science 50p rumoured to be a favourite of the Queen’s, but it’s no longer available at The Royal Mint. Find out more on the blog here >>
If you’d like to get your hands on the fascinating coins in the Innovation in Science series, make sure you check out the range on our shop >>
UK 2023 Edward Jenner £2
Not only are we excited to see a brand new Innovation in Science £2 added to the popular series, but the FIRST EVER individually released £2 to feature King Charles III’s effigy!
To add this £2 coin to your collection for just £9.99 (+p&p), simply click here >>
£2 coin enters circulation! 2021 Mintage Figures Revealed…
The Royal Mint has JUST revealed the mintage figures for all UK circulation coins and it confirms a £2 coin entered circulation!
It’s fantastic to see that a £2 coin entered circulation in 2021 – the Britannia £2!
So, we’ve updated our £2 Mintage Figure chart to show you where this new coin ranks…
New £2 Coin in Circulation
We wouldn’t normally combine definitive and commemorative mintage figures into one chart, however the comparative figures give us an interesting insight into the diversity of the change in our pocket.
The Britannia £2 coin entered circulation in 2021, after a 4 year break.
6,045,000 entered circulation, meaning we stand a good chance of finding one in our change!
And, it looks as though we have some 2021 dated definitive coins to hunt down in our change…
- Nations of the Crown £1: 21,760,000
- Royal Shield 20p: 19,600,000
- Royal Shield 10p: 71,200,000
- Royal Shield 5p: 28,000,000
- Royal Shield 2p: 117,700,000
- Royal Shield 1p: 56,000,000
50p Mintage Figures
Sadly, no 50p coins entered circulation in 2021, meaning our mintage figure chart won’t be updated until we get the confirmed mintages for the 2022 50p coins.
The coins you should be looking out for in your change include the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p, 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny 50p coins, the 2018 Mrs Tittlemouse 50p, and the 2017 Royal Shield 50p.
What about the Olympic 50ps?
In 2012, the Olympic 50p coins entered circulation and it kick-started a collecting frenzy across the nation.
It’s estimated that around 75% of these coins have been removed from circulation by collectors which means they are incredibly sought-after, especially considering these 50ps have some of the lowest mintage figures in circulation…
Many of the Olympic 50ps have a mintage less than 2,000,000 with the rarest (the Olympic Football 50p) having a mintage of just 1,125,500. See the full mintage figures for these coins here >>
Taking these rare 50ps into consideration, the 2018 Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny coins would sit in joint sixth position, below the Kew Gardens, Football, Wrestling, Judo and Triathlon 50ps.
Have you been lucky enough to find any of the 2021 circulation coins in your change?
It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed and you realise just how rare the change in your pocket really is!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
It’ll only take you a minute…