2024 National Gallery £2 Coin
The 2024 National Gallery £2 is a Royal Mint collector issue that was never released into circulation. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2024
- Issued as
- Collector packs and sets only
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- Edwina Ellis
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 2024 National Gallery £2 worth?
This design was never released into circulation. The Royal Mint sold it in brilliant uncirculated packs and annual sets, so almost every example is a collector piece. One found in change is still legal tender at 2 pounds; out of its pack it brings a small premium at most, while a coin still sealed in its original packaging is what collectors want.
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 2024 National Gallery £2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £2 coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.
- How many 2024 National Gallery £2 coins were made?
- None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.
- Who designed the 2024 National Gallery £2?
- The design is credited to Edwina Ellis.
- What is the 2024 National Gallery £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the 2024 National Gallery £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2024 National Gallery £2 was made
The National Gallery was founded in 1824 when Parliament bought the collection of the banker John Julius Angerstein, around 38 paintings shown at first in his former house on Pall Mall. The gallery moved to its present building on Trafalgar Square in 1838 and has been extended several times since. Entry to the main collection is free, in keeping with the idea that great paintings should belong to everyone. The collection now spans centuries of Western European painting, from early altarpieces to works such as Constable's The Hay Wain and Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Millions of visitors pass through its doors in a typical year. The Royal Mint marked its 200th anniversary with this two-pound coin in 2024.
The National Gallery £2 didn't go into general circulation. It was sold as a brilliant uncirculated coin and in the 2024 annual sets, so it reached collectors directly. If one appears in your change, it came from a pack someone opened and spent, perhaps a souvenir that didn't stay in a drawer. It's legal tender at face value, two pounds.
How to recognize it
Edwina Ellis designed the reverse, showing the front of the National Gallery, with its columns and dome. The building is shown head on, as a visitor would see it from Trafalgar Square, so the portico sits in the middle of the coin. The edge reads MAIORVM GLORIA POSTERIS LVMEN EST, Latin for "the glory of our ancestors is a light to our posterity". As a 2024 coin, the obverse carries King Charles III by Martin Jennings. A building facade on the reverse with that Latin edge identifies this coin clearly. No other £2 combines the two, so look for the columns across the front first.
The other side carries Martin Jennings' portrait of King Charles III, first used in 2022.
2024 National Gallery £2 by the numbers
No circulation mintage exists for the 2024 National Gallery £2 because none were released to banks. The Royal Mint's other collector-only £2 coins dated 2024 were Winston Churchill.
No commemorative £2 dated 2024 was released for circulation, which is why so many people hunting change for new designs never see this one.
What to check on your 2024 National Gallery £2
- Read the edge. It should say MAIORVM GLORIA POSTERIS LVMEN EST ("The glory of our ancestors is a light to our posterity"). 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 no circulation mintage, a spent National Gallery £2 is an unusual find in change. Art lovers and London visitors add to the usual collector interest. A crisp pack coin brings a collector premium; a worn one generally a small premium. The fine columns of the facade soften with wear, so check them for condition. A genuine coin has the Latin edge struck evenly into the rim, with V in place of U in MAIORVM and LVMEN, plus the standard two-tone build with a tight join between ring and center.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2024 |
| Circulation mintage | None (collector issue) |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: MAIORVM GLORIA POSTERIS LVMEN EST ("The glory of our ancestors is a light to our posterity") |
| Designer | Edwina Ellis |
| Portrait | Jennings |
Other 2024 £2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Winston Churchill £2 Coin | Collector issue | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
What does the Latin on the National Gallery £2 edge mean?
MAIORVM GLORIA POSTERIS LVMEN EST translates as "the glory of our ancestors is a light to our posterity". It suits a gallery that keeps the art of past centuries open to the public.
Who designed the National Gallery £2 coin?
Edwina Ellis designed it. It shows the front of the gallery's building on Trafalgar Square and marks the 200th anniversary of its founding in 1824. The obverse carries King Charles III.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.