Technology £2 Coin (1997 to 2015)
The Technology £2 is the everyday £2 reverse from 1997 to 2015. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1997 to 2015
- Circulation mintage
- 416,145,838
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring
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 Technology £2 worth?
The everyday Technology £2 is worth face value in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins from sets or with a genuine mint error bring a premium.
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 Technology £2 rare?
- No. 416.1 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many Technology £2 coins were made?
- 416,145,838 were struck for circulation.
- What is the Technology £2 made of?
- Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring. It weighs 12.0 g and measures 28.4 mm.
- Is the Technology £2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every two-metal £2 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in the UK.
The story of the Technology £2
Britain had a £2 coin before 1997, but only as a single-metal commemorative piece that rarely turned up in change. That changed with the bimetallic £2, dated 1997 and released into general circulation in 1998. It combined a cupronickel center with a nickel-brass outer ring, measured 28.4 mm across and was built to be harder to forge than a single-metal coin. It also needed a definitive reverse, a design that would appear year after year. Bruce Rushin's Technology design filled that role.
Rushin's idea was to show the history of technology in a set of concentric rings, representing stages from the Iron Age through the Industrial Revolution and the electronic age to the internet. The edge reads STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS, a phrase Isaac Newton used in a letter to Robert Hooke about how new discoveries build on earlier work. The 1997 coins carry Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen. From 1998 Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait took over.
The design stayed in use until 2015, when Antony Dufort's Britannia replaced it as the standard £2 reverse. Over almost two decades the coin's size and metals never changed, so a 1997 coin and a 2015 coin feel identical in the hand. Hundreds of millions of £2 coins later, the Technology reverse is still the design many people picture first when they think of the coin. The main differences from date to date are on the obverse, where the Queen's portrait was updated. Throughout the run the Royal Mint also issued commemorative £2 coins, which is why some years saw only a small run of the Technology design.
How to recognize it
The reverse is a pattern of concentric rings, with gear-wheel teeth and fine, circuit-like lines standing for different stages of technological progress. It is abstract rather than pictorial, with no people, buildings or animals. TWO POUNDS runs around the top of the outer ring with the date at the bottom. The edge reads STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS on every date of this design, which makes it a quick check against a commemorative with different edge lettering. If the reverse shows a figure of Britannia instead, you have the design that replaced it in 2015. Bruce Rushin designed it.
Over the run the other side carried the portraits of the monarch by Raphael Maklouf, Ian Rank-Broadley and Jody Clark, so the date and portrait together tell you which year you have.
Technology £2 by the numbers
Across 19 circulation dates the Royal Mint struck 416.1 million Technology £2 coins. The biggest year was 1998 with 91.1 million; the smallest circulation year was 2005 with 3.84 million, about 24 times fewer.
What to check on your Technology £2
- Read the edge. The lettering should match the design. 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.
Every date was struck in the millions, so none is rare. The yearly figures count only the Technology design, with commemoratives listed separately, so they show what you can expect to meet in change. The lowest totals are 2005 at 3,837,250 and 2012 at 3,900,000, followed by 2010 at 6,890,000 and 2009 at 8,775,000. The high point is 1998, with 91,110,375 Technology coins of that date. The 1997 date is the only one with the Maklouf portrait. Worn coins of any date are face value. Fakes of this common design have circulated, so check the edge lettering, the two metal colors and a tight join between center and ring.
Technology £2 mintage by year
| Year | Circulation mintage |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 13,734,625 |
| 1998 | 91,110,375 |
| 1999 | 33,719,000 |
| 2000 | 25,770,000 |
| 2001 | 34,984,750 |
| 2002 | 13,024,750 |
| 2003 | 17,531,250 |
| 2004 | 11,981,500 |
| 2005 | 3,837,250 |
| 2006 | 16,715,000 |
| 2007 | 10,270,000 |
| 2008 | 30,107,000 |
| 2009 | 8,775,000 |
| 2010 | 6,890,000 |
| 2011 | 24,375,030 |
| 2012 | 3,900,000 |
| 2013 | 15,860,250 |
| 2014 | 18,200,000 |
| 2015 | 35,360,058 |
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 pounds |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1997 to 2015 |
| Circulation mintage | 416,145,838 |
| Composition | Bimetallic: cupronickel center in a nickel-brass outer ring |
| Weight | 12.0 g |
| Diameter | 28.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS |
| Portrait | Maklouf |
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1997 £2 coin rare?
No. The circulation total for Technology £2 coins dated 1997 is 13,734,625. It is the first year of the bimetallic £2 and the only Technology date with Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen, which makes it a nice type coin, but worn examples are face value.
What does STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS mean on the £2 coin?
It's a phrase Isaac Newton used in a letter to Robert Hooke, meaning he could see further because he built on the work of earlier thinkers. It suits a design about the steady progress of technology over thousands of years.
Which Technology £2 date has the lowest mintage?
The 2005 date has the smallest total, 3,837,250 coins, with 2012 close behind at 3,900,000. In both years commemorative £2 coins took a large share of production, which is why the Technology figures are so low.
Mintage figures: Two pound coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.