1999 Rugby World Cup £2 Coin
The 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 is a circulating £2 with 4.93 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1999
- Circulation mintage
- 4,933,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Ron Dutton
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 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 worth?
4.93 million were made, so the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins and coins still in their original Royal Mint pack.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with crisp edge lettering
- Original Royal Mint pack or presentation folder
- A genuine mint error such as a misaligned or wrong edge, confirmed by an expert
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 rare?
- No. 4.93 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coins were made?
- 4,933,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2?
- The design is credited to Ron Dutton.
- What is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 was made
Wales was the main host of the 1999 Rugby World Cup. The new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff opened in time to stage the final. Other matches were spread across England, Scotland, Ireland and France. Australia beat France in the final to lift the trophy for the second time, having first won it in 1991. For Welsh rugby, the new stadium on the site of the old Cardiff Arms Park was a statement of ambition for the new century.
The tournament earned the first commemorative design on the new two-color £2, which had only entered circulation the year before. Unlike the earlier nickel-brass commemoratives, this one was struck in quantity for everyday use and reached tills, pockets and purses across the country. From here on the bimetallic £2, with its cupronickel center inside a nickel-brass ring, became the usual home for the UK's big anniversaries and events. That makes this coin the starting point for anyone collecting modern commemorative £2 coins from change. It is often the first one people set aside.
How to recognize it
Ron Dutton's design shows a stadium with a rugby ball and goalposts superimposed on it. The date 1999 sits at the top, separated by the goalposts from the words TWO POUNDS below. The edge reads RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999 and should be clear and complete on a genuine coin. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen, which had replaced the Maklouf portrait in 1998. Because the ball and posts are the main features, this is easy to tell apart from every other £2 of the period. The silver-colored center with its gold-colored ring separates it at once from the older single-metal coins.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
1999 Rugby World Cup £2 by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 ranks 28th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 (4.62 million); the next more common is the 2004 Trevithick Steam Locomotive £2 (5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 2.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 13 times fewer than this one.
It was the only circulating commemorative £2 dated 1999. The regular Technology reverse accounted for another 33.7 million that year.
What to check on your 1999 Rugby World Cup £2
- Read the edge. It should say RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999. A wrong or missing edge inscription is the quickest sign of a counterfeit.
- Check the two metals: a silver-colored center and a gold-colored ring, with the ring tight and level all the way around.
- Weigh it: a genuine two-metal £2 weighs 12.0 g. Fakes are often a little light and softer in detail.
- Compare the portrait and lettering with a known genuine coin. Blurry letters, a flat portrait or uneven spacing point to a copy.
A circulation mintage of 4,933,000 makes this a common coin. Most worn examples are face value. As the first bimetallic commemorative it has a following among £2 collectors, so a crisp uncirculated coin carries a small premium. Fakes of bimetallic £2 coins do exist, so check that the edge letters are sharp and spell RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999, that the ring is gold-toned with a silvery center and that the center sits tightly in the ring without a visible gap. Detail on the stadium should be crisp, not mushy.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1999 |
| Circulation mintage | 4,933,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999 |
| Designer | Ron Dutton |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Frequently asked questions
Was the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 the first commemorative two-color £2?
Yes. It was the first commemorative design struck on the bimetallic £2, which had entered circulation in 1998. Earlier commemorative £2 coins, from 1986 to 1996, were single-metal nickel-brass pieces that rarely circulated widely.
Who designed the 1999 rugby £2?
Ron Dutton designed the reverse, showing a stadium with a rugby ball and goalposts over it. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen, which appeared on UK coins from 1998 until 2015.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.