2010 Florence Nightingale £2 Coin
The 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 is a circulating £2 with 6.17 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2010
- Circulation mintage
- 6,175,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Gordon Summers
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 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 worth?
6.17 million were made, so the 2010 Florence Nightingale £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 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 rare?
- No. 6.17 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 coins were made?
- 6,175,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2010 Florence Nightingale £2?
- The design is credited to Gordon Summers.
- What is the 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 was made
Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on 12 May 1820 and took her first name from the city. She became famous during the Crimean War, when she led a team of nurses at the British military hospital at Scutari and pushed hard for cleaner, better run wards. Soldiers called her the Lady with the Lamp because she checked on patients at night. That image stayed with her for the rest of her life and is still how most people picture her.
She died in 1910. A century later the Royal Mint issued this £2, which also marks 150 years since the nursing school she founded at St Thomas' Hospital in London opened in 1860. That explains the wording on the edge. The coin was struck in large numbers, 6,175,000 for circulation, making it one of the most common commemorative £2 coins of its time. Her influence on nursing went well beyond the Crimea: she used statistics to show how many soldiers were dying of preventable disease and argued for reform for decades. Her birthday, 12 May, is still celebrated as International Nurses Day.
How to recognize it
The design shows a pulse being taken, a simple gesture that every nurse knows. Behind it, radiating lines stand for the light of the lamp she carried on her rounds among the wounded. The inscription reads 1820 FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE 1910, with her name set between the years of her birth and death. TWO POUNDS appears below. The edge says 150 YEARS OF NURSING. There's no portrait on this one, which surprises people who expect to see her face. If your coin shows a hand and rays of light with that inscription, you have the right design. The rays are the detail to check for wear. Gordon Summers designed the reverse.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2010 Florence Nightingale £2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2010 Florence Nightingale £2 ranks 34th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2014 First World War Outbreak £2 (5.72 million); the next more common is the 2006 Brunel Achievements £2 (7.45 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 1.7 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 16 times fewer than this one.
It was the only circulating commemorative £2 dated 2010. The regular Technology reverse accounted for another 6.89 million that year.
What to check on your 2010 Florence Nightingale £2
- Read the edge. It should say 150 YEARS OF NURSING. 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.
Over six million were struck, so the Nightingale £2 is common and a worn example is a face value coin. Condition still matters if you want a nice one: the fine rays in the background wear quickly, so coins with clear lines look much sharper. The design was included in Royal Mint collector sets for 2010. Those coins have the clean, bright finish that circulated ones lose fast. Counterfeiting isn't a real concern with a coin this easy to find, though checking that the edge reads 150 YEARS OF NURSING is a quick way to confirm what you have.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2010 |
| Circulation mintage | 6,175,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: 150 YEARS OF NURSING |
| Designer | Gordon Summers |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Florence Nightingale £2 rare?
No. With 6,175,000 struck for circulation it is one of the more common commemorative £2 coins. Worn examples are face value, though a sharp uncirculated coin with clear rays in the background is a pleasant thing to own.
What does the edge of the Florence Nightingale £2 say?
The edge reads 150 YEARS OF NURSING. It refers to the nursing school Florence Nightingale set up at St Thomas' Hospital in London, which opened in 1860, exactly 150 years before the coin was issued.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.