2015 Royal Navy £2 Coin
The 2015 Royal Navy £2 is a circulating £2 with 650,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2015
- Circulation mintage
- 650,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- David Rowlands
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 2015 Royal Navy £2 worth?
At 650,000, the 2015 Royal Navy £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 2015 Royal Navy £2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2015 Royal Navy £2 coins were made?
- 650,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2015 Royal Navy £2?
- The design is credited to David Rowlands.
- What is the 2015 Royal Navy £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2015 Royal Navy £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2015 Royal Navy £2 was made
This is the second coin in the Royal Mint's First World War series, which ran from 2014 to 2018. In 1914 the Royal Navy was the largest in the world. Its main tasks were to keep Britain's sea lanes open and to blockade Germany. The design shows an Iron Duke-class battleship. HMS Iron Duke, the lead ship of the class, was Admiral Jellicoe's flagship at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the biggest clash of battleships in the war.
What makes this coin stand out is its mintage. Just 650,000 were struck for circulation, the lowest figure for any commemorative £2 in this period and one of the lowest for a circulating £2 of any date. Many people never see one in change. It was issued in 2015 alongside the Magna Carta coin, another lower mintage piece, while the 2014 Kitchener coin before it and the 2016 Army coin after it were struck in the millions. David Rowlands designed the reverse, giving the series one of its most detailed scenes.
How to recognize it
An Iron Duke-class battleship is shown side on, with a lone seaplane on one side of it and seabirds on the other. The inscription THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-1918 surrounds the scene with 2015 below. The edge reads THE SURE SHIELD OF BRITAIN. Check the date and the central image carefully: the 2014 Kitchener and 2016 Army coins carry the same war inscription, so the battleship and the 2015 date are what you need to see. The ship's guns, masts and the plane are fine details that show both wear and poor fakes, so look at them under good light. David Rowlands designed it.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2015 Royal Navy £2 by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2015 Royal Navy £2 ranks 4th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2002 Commonwealth Games Wales £2 (588,500); the next more common is the 2002 Commonwealth Games England £2 (650,500).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 16 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 1.7 times fewer than this one.
2015 brought 1 other circulating £2 design: the Magna Carta (1.5 million). The 2015 Royal Navy £2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2015 Royal Navy £2
- Read the edge. It should say THE SURE SHIELD OF BRITAIN. 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.
With 650,000 made, the Royal Navy £2 is the scarcest of the First World War series and one of the most sought after circulating £2 coins. Even worn examples draw a collector premium, with sharp coins in strong demand. That demand attracts counterfeiters. A genuine coin has THE SURE SHIELD OF BRITAIN neatly lettered on the edge, a silver-colored center and gold-colored ring that look clearly different, a center that cannot move and fine detail in the ship and plane. If anything looks soft or blurred, get a second opinion. Pack coins from the Royal Mint are bright and unhandled.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2015 |
| Circulation mintage | 650,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: THE SURE SHIELD OF BRITAIN |
| Designer | David Rowlands |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2015 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 Magna Carta £2 Coin | 1,495,000 | Face value |
| Britannia £2 Coin (2015 to 2022) | 13,650,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Royal Navy £2 so hard to find?
Only 650,000 were struck for circulation, the lowest mintage of any commemorative £2 from this period. It isn't rare like a historic coin, but so few were made that most people have never found one in their change.
What ship is on the 2015 £2 coin?
The coin shows an Iron Duke-class battleship, the class led by HMS Iron Duke, Admiral Jellicoe's flagship at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. A seaplane and seabirds complete the scene, framed by THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-1918.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.