Rarest £2 coins worth up to £35 - as it celebrates 25 years in circulation

14 June 2023 , 11:45

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It's been 25 years since the £2 entered circulation in the UK (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It has been 25 years since the £2 first entered circulation in the UK - but what are the rarest coins to look out for?

The coin itself celebrated its 25-year anniversary in November 2022, however, this was a celebration of when the coin was first struck.

The coin was first issued into circulation several months later in June 1998.

According to Coinhunter, there are 63 different designs for the iconic bi-metal £2 coin and around 37 of them are in circulation and can be found in your spare change.

The other 26 were issued as "commemorative coins" and were not put into circulation and sadly will not appear in a random coat pocket.

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So what are the rarest £2 coins to look out for? - here we explain

In May, Change Checker released its most recent "scarcity index" which details the coins that are most sought-after coins in circulation over the last three months.

The list is broken down into three categories: the rarest 50p coins, and A-Z of 10p coins and £2 coins currently in circulation.

The top three rarest £2 pieces are once again all from the Commonwealth Games 2002 collection.

Here is a list of the £2 coins you should be keeping an eye out for.

Rarest £2 coins - worth up to £35

Each coin features the same base design but each contains the flag of their country (Press Association)

The XVII 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 coins were created to mark the seventeenth games, hosted in Manchester from July 25 2002.

Currently, the most sought-after is the Northern Ireland version, followed by Scotland and then England.

Each coin features the same base design of a runner with a flag but each contains the flag of their country.

The Northern Ireland version, of which there are 485,500 in circulation, has sold for around £35 on eBay in recent months.

In terms of the England and Scotland editions, there are 650,500 and 771,750 copies in circulation, which could sell for around £8 to £28 on eBay respectively.

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• Queen Elizabeth II £2: Commonwealth Games N. Ireland - worth £35
• Queen Elizabeth II £2: Commonwealth Games Scotland - worth £8
• Queen Elizabeth II £2: Commonwealth Games England - worth £28

Other notable £2 coins highlighted in the index include the 2008 Olympic Handover Ceremony coin which was created to celebrate the handover of the games from Beijing to London.

This coin doesn't fetch for much - with an average price of around £4 on sites such as eBay.

Taking fifth place is the 2015 First World War (Navy) £2 coin which was created to commemorate the centenary of the First World War and pays tribute to the Royal Navy.

Again, the coin is worth around £3 to £4 if sold to a collector.

Ruby Flanagan