2 Pounds - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait Bank of England (1994)

About the 1994 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Bank of England

The 1994 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Bank of England is a collector 2 pounds coin, struck in nickel brass. It weighs 15.98g and measures 28.4mm across. Reverse design: Original corporate seal of the Bank of England with Crown & Cyphers of William III and Mary II dividing dates.

1,443,116 were struck.

Common questions

History and design

The Bank of England was founded in 1694, in the reign of William and Mary, to act as the Government's banker and debt manager. Its 300th anniversary in 1994 was marked with a commemorative £2 coin, authorised by a royal proclamation of 27 October 1993 in gold, silver and nickel brass.

The proclamation made the nickel-brass coin current and legal tender, but like the other single-metal £2 coins of 1986 to 1996 it was a commemorative issue and not meant for general circulation. The Royal Mint's figures give 1,443,116 struck to circulating standard. That is the lowest of the five yearly totals the Mint published for these coins, well below the 8,212,184 of the 1986 Commonwealth Games coin.

The reverse is by Leslie Durbin and is built around the Bank's Corporate Seal. The proclamation describes a central medallion showing Britannia in classical dress, looking on a bank of money, holding a sprig of olive and supporting a spear, and resting on a cartouche bearing the Cross of St George, all within a laurel wreath. The dates 1694 and 1994 sit to the left and right. Above is the interlaced W and M cypher of William and Mary under the Royal Crown, with the words Bank of England below.

The obverse has the portrait of Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf, with ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D and TWO POUNDS below. The edge is milled and carries the incuse Latin motto SIC VOS NON VOBIS, which Change Checker translates as "thus you labour but not for yourselves".

Varieties and errors

No varieties or mint errors are documented for the nickel-brass coin.

The well known error of this issue is on the gold proof. Spink records that some gold coins were struck with the obverse die of the double sovereign, which has no TWO POUNDS beneath the portrait, and that the Royal Mint asked buyers in July 1994 to return them for correctly struck replacements. Spink adds that the number released is not known precisely and gives the general view as no more than 400. That piece is catalogued as the gold mule. A nickel-brass coin with TWO POUNDS under the portrait is the normal coin.

Edge lettering that reads upside down against the Queen's head is not an error. The Royal Mint says £2 edge inscriptions are applied before striking and can face either way.

Collecting notes

The seal is finely detailed, so look at Britannia and the wreath for wear and at the edge for a complete motto. The Royal Mint says the old single-metal £2 coins are legal tender but that most banks and retailers will probably refuse them.

The design was also struck as a gold proof, a silver proof and a double-weight silver piedfort. The proclamation gives the gold coin a milled edge with no inscription.