2016 Two Pounds

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Six different £2 coins have been issued so far for 2016. The standard Britannia reverse coins and five commemoratives: One as part of the centenary of WWI series, one to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great fire of London and three different coins to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.

The Standard £2 Coin:

Obverse Type 3 (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

britannia2poundsobv

Reverse Type (design by Anthony Dufort):

2poundrev

Edge: QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO (I will claim the four seas).

Mintage for Circulation: 2,925,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The new obverse portrait by (Mr) Jody Clark was introduced in March 2015 and replaces the previous Ian Rank-Broadley portrait on all circulating coins.

The new reverse design by Anthony Dufort sees a return of Britannia to circulating British coins for the first time since the Britannia 50p was last made in 2008.

Commemorative £2 Coin, Type 35: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type 3b (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

twopounds2016obv3b

Reverse Type (design by Tim Sharp of the creative agency Uniform):

twopounds2016wwir

Edge: FOR KING AND COUNTRY.

Mintage for Circulation: 9,550,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The new obverse portrait by (Mr) Jody Clark was introduced in March 2015 and replaces the previous Ian Rank-Broadley portrait on all circulating coins.

The new reverse design by Tim Sharp and the creative agency Uniform represents the Army and is a stylised image of a ‘Pals Battalion’.

To encourage men to sign up to fight in WWI it was made possible for local friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to serve together in a so-called Pals battalion. One hundred years later and it’s an odd concept – Why witness the suffering, death and general horrors of war with strangers. Do it all with your mates instead, as if that would make the whole thing easier! It wasn’t quite like that though, battalions consisted of hundreds to over 1000 men, so in reality they would not have all been close friends or neighbours. Some Pals Battalions suffered heavy losses in the first half of WWI and the idea was abandoned in Summer 1916.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pals_battalion

 

Commemorative £2 Coin, Type 36: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type 3c (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

twopounds2016obv3c

Reverse Type (design by Aaron West):

twopounds2016firer

Edge: THE WHOLE CITY IN DREADFUL FLAMES.

Mintage for Circulation: 1,625,000 (previously published as 5,135,000).

Collectability/Scarcity: 2 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The new obverse portrait by (Mr) Jody Clark was introduced in March 2015 and replaces the previous Ian Rank-Broadley portrait on all circulating coins.

The initial figure of 5,135,000 was corrected by the Royal Mint as being 1,625,000 in May 2019 – quite a difference, but certainly not a rare coin. The reverse design by Aaron West shows the fire raging over London in 1666, which started on the 2nd of September and lasted for 5 days. This coin marks the 350th anniversary of the fire.

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/explore-online/pocket-histories/what-happened-great-fire-london/

 

Commemorative £2 Coin, Type 37: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type 3b (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

twopounds2016obv3b

Reverse Type (design by John Bergdahl):

twopounds2016jesterr

Edge: ALL THE WORLDS A STAGE.

Mintage for Circulation: 4,355,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

One of three coins issued in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of playwright William Shakespeare. This one represents his comedy work and shows a marotte and jester’s hat.

Commemorative £2 Coin, Type 38: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type 3b (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

twopounds2016obv3b

Reverse Type (design by John Bergdahl):

twopounds2016crownswordr

Edge: THE HOLLOW CROWN.

Mintage for Circulation: 4,615,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

One of three coins issued in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of playwright William Shakespeare. This one represents history related plays and shows a crown and sword.

Commemorative £2 Coin, Type 39: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type 3b (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

twopounds2016obv3b

Reverse Type (design by John Bergdahl):

twopounds2016skullr

Edge: WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN.

Mintage for Circulation: 5,695,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

Chinese fakes appeared in circulation in June 2016. They have the wrong obverse, showing the 4th portrait of the Queen (like the fakes on this page) instead of 5th and also the usual quality issues.

The story behind the design:

One of three coins issued in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of playwright William Shakespeare. This one represents his works on tragedy and shows a skull and a rose.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/z8k2p39

 

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