2006 Brunel Achievements £2 Coin
The 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 is a circulating £2 with 7.45 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2006
- Circulation mintage
- 7,452,250
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Robert Evans
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 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 worth?
7.45 million were made, so the 2006 Brunel Achievements £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 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 rare?
- No. 7.45 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 coins were made?
- 7,452,250 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2006 Brunel Achievements £2?
- The design is credited to Robert Evans.
- What is the 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 was made
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in Portsmouth in 1806, the son of the French-born engineer Marc Brunel. He built the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol, designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge and launched three record-breaking steamships, the Great Western, the Great Britain and the Great Eastern. He also worked with his father on the Thames Tunnel, the first tunnel known to have been built under a navigable river. Few engineers have left so much that is still in use.
In 2006, the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, the Royal Mint issued two £2 coins in his honor. This one celebrates his work rather than the man himself, showing part of the roof of Paddington Station, the London terminus of his Great Western Railway. Its companion shows his portrait. Both were struck in large numbers and both still turn up in change, so it is easy to put the pair together without spending more than face value. The Royal Mint rarely gave one person two £2 designs in the same year, which shows how highly Brunel is regarded.
How to recognize it
Robert Evans shows a section of the roof of Paddington Station, with the date 2006 above, the name BRUNEL to the right and TWO POUNDS below. The edge reads SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE, a play on Brunel's habit of working on several huge projects at once and on the iron he built with. To tell it from the portrait coin of the same year, look for the roof: if you see a face and a chain instead, you have the other Brunel £2. The repeating lines of the roof give the coin a striking, almost geometric look. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2006 Brunel Achievements £2 by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 ranks 35th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 (6.17 million); the next more common is the 2007 Act of Union £2 (7.54 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 1.4 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 20 times fewer than this one.
It shared 2006 with 1 other circulating £2 design: the Brunel Portrait (7.93 million). The 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2006 Brunel Achievements £2
- Read the edge. It should say SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE. 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.
7,452,250 were struck for circulation, so this is a common coin and worn examples are face value. Crisp coins with full roof detail draw a small premium from collectors. The fine lines of the roof are the first thing to wear, so judge condition there. Many collectors want both Brunel designs together, which keeps interest steady. If you suspect a fake, the edge wording should be complete and sharp, while the ring and center should differ in color and be firmly joined.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2006 |
| Circulation mintage | 7,452,250 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE |
| Designer | Robert Evans |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2006 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 Brunel Portrait £2 Coin | 7,928,250 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two Brunel £2 coins from 2006?
The Royal Mint issued a pair for the two hundredth anniversary of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's birth. One shows his portrait; this one shows the roof of Paddington Station to represent his engineering achievements. Both circulated in large numbers.
What does SO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE mean on the Brunel £2?
It's the edge inscription of the Paddington roof coin. The phrase means juggling many projects at once, which suits Brunel, who worked on railways, bridges, tunnels and ships, often at the same time.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.