2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 Coin
The 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 is a circulating £2 with 4.62 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2016
- Circulation mintage
- 4,615,000
- Value band
- Face value
- 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 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 worth?
4.62 million were made, so the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £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 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 rare?
- No. 4.62 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 coins were made?
- 4,615,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2?
- The design is credited to John Bergdahl.
- What is the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 was made
Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Romeo and Juliet: the tragedies are the plays most people think of first when Shakespeare is mentioned. For the 400th anniversary of his death in 2016 the Royal Mint gave them their own £2, completing a trio of designs by John Bergdahl based on the way the First Folio grouped his work. The coin uses one of the most famous props in the theater, a skull. It recalls the graveyard scene in Hamlet, where the prince holds the skull of Yorick, the court jester he knew as a child.
A rose is added beside the skull, a symbol of love and beauty that softens the image. The edge quotes Hamlet again with WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN, part of a speech in which the prince praises human gifts while admitting he takes no joy in them. The tragedies coin had a circulation mintage of 4,615,000, between the other two Shakespeare designs. It reached general circulation in 2016 along with the comedy and history coins.
How to recognize it
The center shows a skull paired with a rose. Around it run WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and the date 2016. On the edge you should find WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN. A skull identifies the tragedies coin. If you see a jester's hat or a crown and dagger, you have one of its companions. The fine lines in the rose are among the first details to fade in circulation, while the rounded top of the skull picks up scuffs. The contrast between the two images, death and beauty side by side, is the whole point of the design. John Bergdahl designed it.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 ranks 27th lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2001 Marconi £2 (4.56 million); the next more common is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 (4.93 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 2.2 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 12 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2016 alongside 4 other circulating £2 designs: the Great Fire of London (1.63 million), the Shakespeare Comedies (4.36 million), the Shakespeare Histories (5.66 million) and the The Army (9.55 million). 2 of them had a smaller run.
What to check on your 2016 Shakespeare Tragedies £2
- Read the edge. It should say WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN. 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 4,615,000, the tragedies £2 is common and face value in worn condition. Like its companions, it appeals mostly to people completing the Shakespeare trio or a full run of 2016 £2 coins, which also includes the Army and Great Fire of London designs. A crisp example with a well defined rose looks best. Counterfeiting isn't much of a worry for a coin made in these numbers. Uncirculated coins from Royal Mint packs have a bright finish that circulated pieces quickly lose.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 4,615,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN |
| Designer | John Bergdahl |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2016 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Shakespeare Comedies £2 Coin | 4,355,000 | Face value |
| 2016 Shakespeare Histories £2 Coin | 5,655,000 | Face value |
| 2016 The Army £2 Coin | 9,550,000 | Face value |
| 2016 Great Fire of London £2 Coin | 1,625,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why is there a skull on a £2 coin?
The skull represents Shakespeare's tragedies, recalling the scene in Hamlet where the prince holds Yorick's skull. It appears on one of three 2016 £2 coins marking 400 years since Shakespeare's death, each showing a different group of plays.
Where does WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN come from?
It's from Hamlet, Act 2, where Hamlet praises mankind as noble in reason and infinite in faculty, then admits that man delights him not. The line suits a coin devoted to tragedy.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.