Britannia 2 Pound Coin

Introducing the Britannia 2 Pound Coin

Britannia is the Latin form of the Britannic name for the island and had been on British coins for over 300 years, but in 2008 the Royal Mint took her off the 50 pence coin to much sadness. Britannia came back in February 2015 with an announcement that she would now be on the 2-pound coin, taking the place of Bruce Rushin’s design of the history of technological achievement. There would also be a change in the obverse portrait as well. The final 2-pound Technology coin in the series will have the fourth portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley. The new Britannia coin taking its place will have the fifth and final portrait of the Queen by Royal Mint engraver Jody Clark. 

Britannia 2015 2 Pound Coin

The Britannia 2 pound coin features the iconic warrior female in profile, looking to the left. Designed by Antony Dufort, Britannia is wearing her helmet and holding her shield and trident.  The edge inscription also includes the original inscription that was found on previous Britannia coins, ‘Quatuor Maria Vindico,’ meaning ‘I will claim the four seas.’ The coin will be a great gift or prized piece in any coin collection.  

Antony Dufort revealed that the image of the goddess is partially based on his wife, an immigrant from Poland. He “…had to think long and hard about how to represent a strong young woman. It had to be something that fitted in with tradition as well.”

(Caption: Britannia Statue By Mageslayer99 – licensed by CC BY 3.0)

How Much is the 2015 Britannia 2 Pound Coin Worth?

Despite the popularity of the announcement, the Royal Mint only released 650,000 coins in 2015, one of the lowest mintages. As such, the coin is highly sought after and valued by collectors. 

There is also a minting error to look for when searching for the 2-pound coin. This error concerns the die and what is called ‘medal alignment.’ When the Queen is facing upright, along the vertical axis, the reverse side should be in the same orientation. However, there are some coins that have the Britannia design rotated and therefore, out of alignment. It’s estimated that about 3,500 of the 650,000 coins would have this mistake. 

On eBay, for a circulation coin that also has this minting error, the highest price is £34.05 as of 2019. 

Other Versions of the Britannia Coin

Since the first release in 2015, the Royal Mint has brought back Britannia each year. As of 2019, it is still being reissued. A note about the 2017 Britannia coin – the Royal Mint did not release any into circulation that year so the only ones available are either Brilliant Uncirculated or Proof versions. 

The 2015 Britannia 2 pound coin also comes in precious metal versions of Gold Proof (1,000 mintage), Silver Proof (6,000 mintage), and Silver Proof Piedfort (2,000 mintage).