2011 Mary Rose £2 Coin
The 2011 Mary Rose £2 is a circulating £2 with 1.04 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 1,040,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- John Bergdahl
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 2011 Mary Rose £2 worth?
At 1.04 million, the 2011 Mary Rose £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 2011 Mary Rose £2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2011 Mary Rose £2 coins were made?
- 1,040,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2011 Mary Rose £2?
- The design is credited to John Bergdahl.
- What is the 2011 Mary Rose £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2011 Mary Rose £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Mary Rose £2 was made
The Mary Rose was one of Henry VIII's great warships, built in Portsmouth and first sent to sea in 1511. She served for more than three decades before sinking in the Solent in 1545 during an engagement with a French fleet, with the loss of most of her crew. Silt covered much of the wreck and preserved it. She lay on the seabed for over 400 years until she was raised in 1982, an event watched live by a huge television audience. The surviving hull and thousands of objects recovered with her are now displayed in Portsmouth.
This £2 marked the 500th anniversary of her maiden voyage in 2011. Just 1,040,000 were struck for circulation, which makes it one of the scarcer commemorative £2 coins and a partner in scarcity to the King James Bible coin from the same year. John Bergdahl, who went on to design several more £2 coins, produced the reverse. Together with the King James Bible, it makes 2011 one of the most rewarding dates to look for. The ship also ties in neatly with the Trinity House £2 of 2014 for anyone collecting coins with a maritime theme.
How to recognize it
The ship sails to the right, based on an image from a pictorial survey of Henry VIII's navy made in 1546, the year after she sank. THE MARY ROSE runs across the top of the coin and TWO POUNDS along the bottom. The masts and rigging give you plenty of fine detail to inspect. On a sharp coin you can follow individual lines, while on a worn one they fade into the hull. The edge reads YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511, with the old spelling of ship and the year of her maiden voyage. Check that spelling, because a careless fake may get it wrong. John Bergdahl designed it.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Mary Rose £2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Mary Rose £2 ranks 11th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 King James Bible £2 (975,000); the next more common is the 1994 Bank of England £2 (1.44 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 9.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 2.7 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2011 alongside 1 other circulating £2 design: the King James Bible (975,000). The 2011 Mary Rose £2 was the most plentiful of the year.
What to check on your 2011 Mary Rose £2
- Read the edge. It should say YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511. 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 mintage of 1,040,000 puts the Mary Rose among the harder circulating £2 coins to find. Worn coins still draw a collector premium, with sharp examples showing clear rigging drawing more. Popular low mintage £2 designs are copied by counterfeiters, so check four things: the edge reads YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511, the center and ring are different colors, the center does not wobble and the ship's lines are crisp rather than soft. Royal Mint packs give you bright uncirculated examples, while a coin from change will show light wear on the hull and lettering.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,040,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511 |
| Designer | John Bergdahl |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2011 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 King James Bible £2 Coin | 975,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Mary Rose £2 coin rare?
It is scarce rather than rare. Only 1,040,000 were struck for circulation in 2011, a low figure for a £2, so it is much harder to find in change than most commemoratives and collectors pay above face value for it.
What does SHIPPE mean on the Mary Rose £2 edge?
It's simply the Tudor spelling of ship. The edge reads YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511, pairing old style wording with the year the Mary Rose first went to sea. On a genuine coin the letters are clean and evenly spaced.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.