Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 89 verified sales in the last 12 months.
2 Pounds - Elizabeth II 4th portrait Charles Darwin (2009)
"Charles Darwin £2"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2009 |
| Denomination | 2 Pounds |
| Face value | £2 |
| Mintage | 3,903,000 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Bimetallic: copper-nickel center in nickel brass ring |
| Weight | 12.000g |
| Diameter | 28.4mm |
| Thickness | 2.50mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled: ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 1859 |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Rev. artist | Suzie Zamit |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRA · REG · FID · DEF ·
Charles Darwin and ape heads facing, legend, dates and denomination around.
Charles Darwin £2 market value
Find this on eBay
AffiliateCharles Darwin £2 price history
Daily limit reachedCharles Darwin £2 value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDC | £10.75 🔒 eBay | £10.75 (1) | – | £10.75 – £10.75 | 1 | 1 | 19-09-2026 | |
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| UNC | £8.53 🔒 eBay | £10.80 | – | £8.53 – £10.80 | 3 | 3 | 12-10-2026 | |
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| BU | £24.95 🔒 eBay | £22.95 | – | £6.53 – £34.99 | 31 | 31 | 15-10-2026 | |
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| VF | £4.00 🔒 eBay | £3.84 | ▼1.5% | £2.24 – £16.15 | 46 | 46 | 16-10-2026 | |
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| MS-67 | £34.99 🔒 eBay | £34.99 (1) | – | £34.99 – £34.99 | 1 | 1 | 06-07-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £7.99 🔒 eBay | £21.45 | – | £7.99 – £30.86 | 7 | 7 | 17-09-2026 | |
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About the 2009 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Charles Darwin
The 2009 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Charles Darwin is a circulating 2 pounds coin, struck in bimetallic: copper-nickel center in nickel brass ring. It weighs 12g and measures 28.4mm across. Reverse design: Charles Darwin and ape heads facing, legend, dates and denomination around.
3,903,000 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 2009 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Charles Darwin worth?
Verified sold prices for the 2009 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Charles Darwin run from £3.84 to £34.99 across 6 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many Charles Darwin £2 coins were made?
The Royal Mint's figures record 3,903,000 struck for circulation, all dated 2009. The other commemorative £2 of that year, for Robert Burns, had 3,253,000, and 8,775,000 Technology £2 coins were struck with the same date.
Is the Charles Darwin £2 rare?
No, though it is not among the most common. Its 3,903,000 sits near the middle of the range: of the 35 commemorative £2 issues with a figure in the Royal Mint's mintage data, 17 have a lower circulating total and 17 a higher one.
Who designed the Charles Darwin £2?
Suzie Zamit designed the reverse, a profile portrait of Charles Darwin facing an ape, which the Royal Mint describes as a chimpanzee. The obverse carries the fourth portrait of Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley.
What does the edge of the Darwin £2 say?
The milled edge reads ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 1859 in incuse letters, the title and year of Darwin's book. The coin marks the 150th anniversary of its publication as well as the bicentenary of his birth.
Is upside-down edge lettering on a Darwin £2 an error?
No. The Royal Mint says the edge inscription is rolled onto the blank before the faces are struck, so it can point towards either side of the coin, and that there is no right or wrong way. It is a normal result of production.
How do I identify the 2009 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Charles Darwin?
Check the weight 12g and diameter 28.4mm and the metal (bimetallic: copper-nickel center in nickel brass ring) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
Charles Darwin was born in 1809, and his book On the Origin of Species was published in 1859. This £2 coin, dated 2009, marks both anniversaries: the bicentenary of his birth and 150 years since the book appeared.
The royal proclamation for the coin came into force on 10 October 2008, the same day as the one for the other commemorative £2 of 2009, for Robert Burns. It made the cupro-nickel and nickel-brass coin current and legal tender throughout the United Kingdom and provided for silver, silver piedfort and gold versions.
The Royal Mint's figures record 3,903,000 struck for circulation. That is a middling total for a commemorative £2. Of the 35 commemorative issues with a figure in the Mint's data, 17 are lower and 17 higher.
The reverse is by Suzie Zamit. It shows a portrait of Charles Darwin in profile facing an ape, which the Royal Mint describes as a chimpanzee and as a visual representation of his theory of evolution. The inscription 1809 DARWIN 2009 and the denomination TWO POUNDS surround the two heads.
The milled edge carries the incuse inscription ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 1859. The obverse has the fourth portrait of Elizabeth II, by Ian Rank-Broadley, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REG FID DEF.
Varieties and errors
No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.
Upside-down edge lettering is sometimes offered as an error. The Royal Mint explains that the inscription is rolled onto the blank before the faces are struck, so its top can point towards either side, and that there is no right or wrong way.
Collecting notes
The Darwin £2 is collected mainly for its design. Its mintage gives it no particular scarcity, so condition is what separates one example from another: look for clean fields and sharp detail on both heads.
Check that the core is centred and the edge inscription is complete, including the date 1859. The design was also struck as a silver proof, a silver piedfort and a gold proof, and the proclamation gives the gold coin a plain edge with the same lettering. Its partner from the same year is the Robert Burns £2.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- UK coin mintage figures (data file), The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and design for two-pound coins commemorating the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species (Edinburgh Gazette issue 26540, 10 October 2008, page 4224), The Edinburgh Gazette (read 9 Oct 2026)
- £2 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2009 Elizabeth II 'The 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Charles Darwin' £2 Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2009 Two Pounds, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Edge inscription on £2, £1 coins "upside down"?, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
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