2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 Coin
The 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 is a circulating £2 with 910,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2008
- Circulation mintage
- 910,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- Thomas T Docherty
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 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 worth?
At 910,000, the 2008 London Olympics 1908 £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 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 coins were made?
- 910,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2?
- The design is credited to Thomas T Docherty.
- What is the 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 was made
London first hosted the Olympic Games in 1908. The fourth Olympiad had been meant for Rome, but Italy withdrew after the eruption of Vesuvius in 1906 and London stepped in at fairly short notice. A new stadium went up at White City in west London. Those Games left a lasting mark on the sport: the marathon was run over 26 miles and 385 yards, a distance that was later fixed as the standard and is still raced today.
The Royal Mint marked the centenary with this £2 in 2008, the same year it issued a coin for the Beijing to London handover. Both were struck in small numbers for circulation. This one had the lower figure of the pair, 910,000, which places it among the lowest mintage commemorative £2 coins ever released into change. Designer Thomas T Docherty took the simple idea of a running track and used perspective to make it feel like the start of a race. With London preparing for its third Olympics, the coin tied the new Games to the old ones in a way most people could understand at a glance.
How to recognize it
Four running lanes start at the bottom left and narrow into the distance toward the top right. Instead of ordinary lane numbers, the figures in the lanes read 1908, while TWO POUNDS 2008 runs along the lanes themselves. The words LONDON OLYMPIC CENTENARY curve around the upper right of the coin. You won't see the hands and flag of the handover coin here, which makes the two 2008 Olympic designs easy to tell apart. The edge should read THE 4TH OLYMPIAD LONDON. Because the track lines are long and straight, they are a good test of quality: on a genuine coin they are clean and even. The design is by Thomas T Docherty.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 ranks 8th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2012 London to Rio Handover £2 (845,000); the next more common is the 2008 Olympic Handover to London £2 (918,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 11 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 2.4 times fewer than this one.
2008 brought 1 other circulating £2 design: the Olympic Handover to London (918,000). The 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2008 London Olympics 1908 £2
- Read the edge. It should say THE 4TH OLYMPIAD LONDON. 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.
At 910,000 for circulation this is the lower of the two 2008 Olympic £2 coins and one of the scarcest commemorative £2 designs you can find in change. Collectors pay above face value for it even when worn, while sharp examples bring a stronger premium. Low mintage £2 coins attract counterfeiters, so check that the edge wording is THE 4TH OLYMPIAD LONDON, that the lane lines are fine and straight, that the two metals show distinct colors and that the center doesn't move inside the ring. Coins taken from Royal Mint packs are bright and free of the bag marks found on circulated pieces.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2008 |
| Circulation mintage | 910,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: THE 4TH OLYMPIAD LONDON |
| Designer | Thomas T Docherty |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2008 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Olympic Handover to London £2 Coin | 918,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
How many 2008 London Olympic centenary £2 coins were minted?
The Royal Mint struck 910,000 for circulation. That makes it slightly scarcer than the handover coin issued the same year and one of the lowest mintage £2 commemoratives to reach everyday change in the UK.
Why does the 1908 Olympic £2 show a running track?
The track nods to the athletics at the 1908 London Games, held at the new White City stadium. The numbers in the lanes spell out 1908, so the date of the original Games is built into the picture itself.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.