1990 2p Coin

Quick answers

Is the 1990 2p rare?

No. 204.5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.

How many 1990 2p coins were made?

204,499,700 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1990 2p made of?

Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin). It weighs 7.12 g and measures 25.9 mm.

Is the 1990 2p still legal tender?

Yes. The 2p is legal tender, though 1p and 2p coins together only have to be accepted for payments up to 20p.

How to recognize it

The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.

The 1990 2p is round, 25.9 mm across and bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin).

1990 2p by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 1990 2p ranks 25th lowest of 45 2p dates and varieties from 1971 to 2021. The next scarcer is the 1978 2p (189.7 million); the next more common is the 1987 2p (218.1 million).

For scale, the most common is the 1971 2p with 1.45 billion, about 7.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 2008 Old Reverse 2p with 10.6 million, 19 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 1990 output was 1.8 times fewer than 1989 and 2.4 times the 1991 figure.

Over the 1990s the Mint produced 2.65 billion 2p coins across 12 dates and varieties; the 1990 2p accounts for 7.7% of that.

What to check on your 1990 2p

• Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
• Try a magnet: bronze 2p coins do not stick to it. A coin that sticks is copper-plated steel from 1992 or later, so read the date again.
• Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
• Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.

Bronze TWO PENCE 2p (1982 to 1991)

When the word NEW disappeared from British coins in 1982, the 2p reverse was changed to read TWO PENCE above the Prince of Wales's feathers. The 2p then went through an odd spell. Pennies kept pouring out for circulation, but no 2p coins were struck for change in 1982, 1983 or 1984. The large runs of 1980 and 1981 appear to have left enough in circulation, so those three dates exist only in Royal Mint sets.

It was during this sets-only spell that one of the best known errors in decimal British coinage happened. Some 1983 sets contained a 2p struck with the old NEW PENCE reverse instead of TWO PENCE. Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen in a diadem replaced Machin's in 1985, the year circulation 2p coins came back with 107,113,000 struck. Output peaked at 419,889,000 in 1988 before tailing off to 86,625,250 in 1991, the lowest figure of any bronze 2p made for circulation.

Physically nothing changed in these years: bronze, 25.9 mm, 7.12 g, plain edge and no reaction to a magnet. For collectors, the sets-only dates and the 1983 error are the highlights. Circulation dates from 1985 to 1991 are face value when worn, though uncirculated red coins can carry a small premium. Bronze 2p coins tone to a deep brown over time. That is normal, while bright pink patches usually mean a coin has been cleaned and lost some of its appeal.

Mintage chart

Specifications