2016 The Army £2 Coin
The 2016 The Army £2 is a circulating £2 with 9.55 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
- 9,550,000
- 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 The Army £2 worth?
9.55 million were made, so the 2016 The Army £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 The Army £2 rare?
- No. 9.55 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2016 The Army £2 coins were made?
- 9,550,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2016 The Army £2?
- The design is credited to John Bergdahl.
- What is the 2016 The Army £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 The Army £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2016 The Army £2 was made
The third coin in the First World War series honors the British Army, which grew during the war from a small professional force into a mass army of millions. Volunteers flooded in after 1914. Conscription was introduced in 1916, the same year the Battle of the Somme began on 1 July with the heaviest losses the British Army had ever suffered in a single day. By the end of the war almost every family in the country had someone in uniform or knew someone who had not come home.
The Royal Mint issued the coin in 2016, a century after the Somme. Unlike the scarce Royal Navy coin of the year before, this one was struck in very large numbers: 9,550,000 for circulation, the highest of any £2 in this group. John Bergdahl designed it, his second coin in the series after the Kitchener piece. Its simple silhouettes make it one of the most restrained designs of the set, leaving the soldiers anonymous so they can stand for everyone who served.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows the outlines of three First World War soldiers in profile, drawn as silhouettes rather than in full relief. THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-1918 surrounds them with 2016 below. The edge reads FOR KING AND COUNTRY. The outline style leaves a lot of open space on the coin, so scratches and knocks show easily. If your First World War £2 shows soldiers rather than a battleship or Kitchener, the 2016 date confirms it. On a sharp coin each of the three outlines should be clean and unbroken, with no soft or blurred stretches. John Bergdahl designed it with a light touch that suits the subject.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2016 The Army £2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2016 The Army £2 ranks 41st lowest of 42 circulating £2 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2007 Abolition of the Slave Trade £2 (8.45 million); the next more common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 (10.2 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2005 End of World War II (VE Day 60) £2 with 10.2 million, about 1.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 1989 Claim of Right £2 with 381,400, 25 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 Tragedies (4.62 million) and the Shakespeare Histories (5.66 million). The 2016 The Army £2 was the most plentiful of the year.
What to check on your 2016 The Army £2
- Read the edge. It should say FOR KING AND COUNTRY. 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 9,550,000 struck, the Army £2 is the most common coin in this group and a face value piece when circulated. Its main interest is as part of the First World War run, where it sits next to the scarce Royal Navy coin and the 2014 Kitchener design. Because the outline style shows marks easily, a clean, unscratched example is much nicer to own. The Royal Mint sold it in packs. Those coins are free of the hairlines and knocks on circulated ones. Counterfeits are not a big concern for a coin this common.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 9,550,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: FOR KING AND COUNTRY |
| 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 Shakespeare Tragedies £2 Coin | 4,615,000 | Face value |
| 2016 Great Fire of London £2 Coin | 1,625,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2016 Army £2 rare?
No. With 9,550,000 struck for circulation it's one of the most common commemorative £2 coins of the 2010s. It's face value when worn, though it is a useful piece if you're putting together the First World War series.
What does FOR KING AND COUNTRY on the Army £2 mean?
It was a patriotic phrase widely used during the First World War, appearing in recruiting material and on many memorials afterward. On this coin it links the design to the volunteers and conscripts who served in the army between 1914 and 1918.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.