2 Pence - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait set Issue (1982–1984)

One row for each year the 2 Pence - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait – set Issue was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1982 2 Pence - Elizabeth II – set Issue

The 1982 2 Pence - Elizabeth II – set Issue is a collector 2 pence coin issued from 1982 to 1984, struck in bronze. It weighs 7.12g and measures 25.9mm across. Reverse design: The badge of the Prince of Wales, a plume of three ostrich feathers enfiling a coronet of crosses pattées and fleurs de lis, dividing motto with legend above and denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 3 years between 1982 and 1984, 1,000,920 coins in all. 1984 is the scarcest date, with 158,820 struck.

Common questions

History and design

When the 2p was introduced on 15 February 1971 its reverse read NEW PENCE, a wording the Royal Mint says was chosen to distinguish the decimal coins from the old money. The word NEW was removed in 1982, and from that year the coin read TWO PENCE.

The new wording did not reach the public's change straight away. The Royal Mint's circulating figures show 353,191,000 2p coins dated 1981 and then nothing until 1985. The TWO PENCE coins dated 1982, 1983 and 1984 were made only for the annual collector sets, and Tony Clayton's reference states that none was issued for circulation.

They are also the last 2p coins with Arnold Machin's portrait of the Queen, which the Royal Mint lists for the 2p from 1971 to 1984. When circulating production resumed in 1985 it was with Raphael Maklouf's portrait.

Christopher Ironside's reverse, used on the 2p from 1971 to 2008, shows the badge of the Prince of Wales: a plume of ostrich feathers within a coronet, above the motto ICH DIEN. TWO PENCE is written above and the figure 2 below.

The coin is bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin) with a plain edge, the same specification as the circulating 2p before and after it.

Varieties and errors

One documented error belongs to this period. The Royal Mint states that in 1983 a small number of 2p coins were mistakenly struck with NEW PENCE on the reverse, to brilliant uncirculated quality, and included in sets for collectors. That coin is catalogued separately as the 1983 NEW PENCE mule. A 1983 coin reading TWO PENCE is the normal coin described here.

Collecting notes

These coins come from the Royal Mint's annual sets. The 1982 proof set, for instance, contained the 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p and halfpenny. Unlike the large 5p and 10p of the same sets, the 2p is still legal tender, so one broken out of a set can circulate, and a worn example has done so.

The Royal Mint publishes no mintage for these dates, since its figures cover circulating issues. When checking a coin, confirm the date and then the wording: 1982 to 1984 with TWO PENCE is this type, and 1971 to 1981 with NEW PENCE is the earlier circulating type.