2017 Lest We Forget $2 Coin
The 2017 Lest We Forget $2 is a circulating $2 coin with 3.9 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2017
- Circulation mintage
- 3,900,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2017 Lest We Forget $2 worth?
Circulated colored $2 coins like the 2017 Lest We Forget $2 usually change hands close to face value. Complete sets still in their collector cards and coins with unworn color bring a little more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Intact, unworn color
- Uncirculated condition
- Original card or collector folder
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2017 Lest We Forget $2 rare?
- No. 3.9 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2017 Lest We Forget $2 coins were made?
- 3,900,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2017 Lest We Forget $2 made of?
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 6.6 g and measures 20.5 mm.
- Is the 2017 Lest We Forget $2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
Why the 2017 Lest We Forget $2 was made
The words Lest We Forget come from Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem Recessional and have become the closing line of countless Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services in Australia. Kipling repeated the line as a refrain through the poem, which he wrote for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. In 2017 the Royal Australian Mint used the phrase as the theme of a colored $2 coin, continuing its run of commemoratives through the centenary years of the First World War.
The circulation mintage was 3,900,000, the highest of any single colored $2 design to that point. That larger figure meant more coins reached ordinary change and this is one of the colored coins people find most easily today. It came out in the same year as the Remembrance coin with a sprig of rosemary, so 2017 gave collectors two remembrance themed $2 coins in quick succession. Even so, 3,900,000 is far below the 16.4 million regular $2 coins dated 2017, so the coin is a genuine commemorative find and not ordinary change. Look for it in older change.
How to recognize it
The reverse carries a colored design in blue, green and yellow built around the Lest We Forget theme, replacing the regular Aboriginal elder. That combination of three colors helps separate it from the 2017 rosemary coin, which uses green and purple. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen with IRB under the neck and the date 2017. The coin is 20.5 mm in diameter, weighs 6.6 g and is aluminum bronze with the standard interrupted milled edge. Check the color in the recesses if the high points are worn, as traces of all three colors usually survive there.
2017 Lest We Forget $2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2017 Lest We Forget $2 ranks 11th lowest of 13 commemorative $2 releases with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2018 Eternal Flame $2 (3.4 million); the next more common is the 2012 Remembrance Day (uncolored) $2 (5.8 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 with 10 million, about 2.6 times as many. The scarcest is the 2012 Remembrance Day Red Poppy $2 with 500,000, 7.8 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2017 alongside 3 other circulating $2 coin designs: the Remembrance (Rosemary) (2.1 million) and the 2017 Australian $2 (16.4 million). 1 of them had a smaller run.
What to check on your 2017 Lest We Forget $2
- Confirm the design: Lest We Forget dated 2017, with the colored panel (Blue/Green/Yellow).
- Never clean a colored coin. Rubbing or solvents strip the color, which is most of what collectors are paying for.
- Check the edge: Australian $2 coins have interrupted milling, with sections of reeding separated by smooth gaps.
- Weigh it if you are unsure: a genuine $2 coin weighs 6.6 g and is 20.5 mm across.
At 3,900,000, Lest We Forget is one of the most plentiful colored $2 coins, so circulated examples are generally worth face value or barely above. Coins with complete, bright color are much nicer to own and draw a small premium in uncirculated condition. Because it's so available, collectors can afford to be fussy and wait for a clean one. Don't scrub off grime from a found coin. The color is more fragile than the dirt and a dull coin with full color beats a bright one with none.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2017 |
| Circulation mintage | 3,900,000 |
| Composition | Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 6.6 g |
| Diameter | 20.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Interrupted milling |
| Colors | Blue/Green/Yellow |
Other 2017 $2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 Australian $2 Coin | 16,400,000 | Face value |
| 2017 Possum Magic $2 Coin | – | Face value |
| 2017 Remembrance (Rosemary) $2 Coin | 2,100,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Where does Lest We Forget come from?
The phrase comes from Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem Recessional. In Australia it's spoken at the end of Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services and the 2017 $2 coin uses it as its theme.
Is the Lest We Forget $2 coin rare?
No. With 3,900,000 struck it's one of the most common colored $2 coins. Worn coins are worth face value, while bright uncirculated examples bring a small premium. Patience usually turns up a clean one.
Mintage figures: Australian two-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.