2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 Coin
The 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 is a circulating £2 with 485,500 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2002
- Circulation mintage
- 485,500
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- Matthew Bonaccorsi
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 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 worth?
At 485,500, the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 has a smaller run than most £2 coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
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 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 coins were made?
- 485,500 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2?
- The design is credited to Matthew Bonaccorsi.
- What is the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 was made
Northern Ireland competes at the Commonwealth Games under its own name. In 2002 its athletes traveled to Manchester for the seventeenth Games. The flag used for its team is the Ulster Banner, which still represents Northern Ireland at the Games even though it has had no official status as a government flag since the Northern Ireland Parliament was suspended in 1972. Its appearance on a coin made this version stand out from the start.
The banner appears on the Northern Ireland version of the 2002 £2, one of four variants issued for the Games. It also ended up as the scarcest of them: just 485,500 were struck for circulation, the lowest figure of the four and one of the lowest for any circulating £2. Collectors who set out to complete the four-coin set usually find this one the hardest, which keeps demand high. That demand has made it a target for counterfeiters, so anyone who finds one should check it carefully before assuming it is genuine. It is the coin many £2 collectors check for first when they sort through a pile of change.
How to recognize it
The reverse, by Matthew Bonaccorsi, shows a stylized athlete holding a banner, with the inscription XVII COMMONWEALTH GAMES. On this version the Ulster Banner features beside the athlete. It is easy to confuse with England's flag at a glance, since both are built on an upright cross. The Ulster Banner, though, has a six-pointed star with a crown above it at the center of the cross, so look closely at the middle of the flag. The edge reads SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002. The obverse shows Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen. Wear can hide those small details, so good light and a magnifier make the job much easier.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 ranks 2nd lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 (381,400); the next more common is the 2002 Commonwealth Games Wales £2 (588,500).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 21 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400.
It was released in 2002 alongside 3 other circulating £2 designs: the Commonwealth Games Wales (588,500), the Commonwealth Games England (650,500) and the Commonwealth Games Scotland (771,750). The 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2
- Read the edge. It should say SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002. 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.
This is the key coin of the 2002 set and the one most worth checking carefully. Genuine examples carry a collector premium even when worn and a stronger one when uncirculated, which is exactly why fakes circulate. Run through the checks: edge letters sharp, evenly spaced and reading SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002; a gold-toned ring and a silver-toned center; no gap or movement between the two parts; crisp detail on the athlete and flag. If anything looks soft or off, ask an experienced dealer or collector club to look at it.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2002 |
| Circulation mintage | 485,500 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP MANCHESTER 2002 |
| Designer | Matthew Bonaccorsi |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2002 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Commonwealth Games England £2 Coin | 650,500 | Small premium |
| 2002 Commonwealth Games Scotland £2 Coin | 771,750 | Small premium |
| 2002 Commonwealth Games Wales £2 Coin | 588,500 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Which is the rarest Commonwealth Games £2?
The Northern Ireland version. Only 485,500 were struck for circulation, against 588,500 for Wales, 650,500 for England and 771,750 for Scotland. That makes it the hardest of the four 2002 coins to find and the one most worth checking for authenticity.
How do you tell the Northern Ireland £2 from the England one?
Both flags have an upright cross, so look at the center. The Ulster Banner has a six-pointed star with a crown above it, which the cross of St George on the England coin does not. On a worn coin a magnifying glass helps a lot.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.