2 Pounds - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait Technology (1997)

About the 1997 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Technology

The 1997 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Technology is a circulating 2 pounds coin in the Technology £2 (Definitive) series, struck in bimetallic: copper-nickel center in nickel brass ring. It weighs 12g and measures 28.4mm across. Reverse design: Four concentric circles representing the Iron Age, Industrial Revolution, silicon chip and the internet, legend above, date below.

13,734,625 were struck.

Common questions

History and design

A 1994 review of the coinage recommended a £2 coin for everyday use, and after consultation the Royal Mint settled on a bimetallic piece that would be easy to tell apart from other coins. It was planned for issue in November 1997 and was struck that year with Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen. The launch was then postponed.

When the coin finally entered general circulation in June 1998, a new portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley had been approved for all circulating coins. The Royal Mint says the 1997-dated stock was released at the same time as the new 1998 coins, which is why two different heads appeared in change together. The Mint's figures record 13,734,625 dated 1997, against 91,110,375 dated 1998.

The reverse is by Bruce Rushin, a Norfolk art teacher who won a public competition. Four concentric circles trace technological progress from the Iron Age to the Industrial Revolution, the computer age and the internet, with TWO POUNDS above and the date below. The milled edge carries the incuse words STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS, taken from a letter written in 1676 by Sir Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke.

The obverse is what sets this date apart. It has the Maklouf portrait, in which the Queen wears a necklace, and Tony Clayton's reference gives the legend as ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D. Every later Technology coin has the Rank-Broadley head. The coin has a nickel-brass outer ring and a cupro-nickel centre and weighs 12g.

Varieties and errors

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.

The necklace is not an error or a rare variety. The Royal Mint addresses the question directly: the portrait is simply the one in use when the coins were struck, and with millions issued there is no reason to think them particularly rare. Change Checker lists the "Queen with a Necklace" story among the best known £2 myths.

Edge lettering that reads upside down is also normal. The Royal Mint says the inscription is rolled onto the blank before striking, so it can face either way.

Collecting notes

The 1997 coin remains current and can still turn up in change, though Tony Clayton notes that the rarity rumour led people to hold on to them, so they are seen less often than the mintage suggests. It is the only date of the bimetallic £2 with the Maklouf portrait, which gives it a place in a date run of the Technology £2 whatever its numbers.

Check for a centred core, a complete edge inscription and clean surfaces. Gold proof, silver proof and silver piedfort versions dated 1997 are listed separately and were not issued for circulation.