Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 101 verified sales in the last 12 months.
2 Pounds - Elizabeth II 4th portrait Rugby World Cup (1999)
"Rugby World Cup £2"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1999 |
| Denomination | 2 Pounds |
| Face value | £2 |
| Mintage | 4,933,000 |
| 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: RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999 |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Rev. artist | Ron Dutton |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
| Tags | commemorative highly-collectable |
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
Central rugby ball and goal posts surrounded by a stylised stadium, date above, legend below.
Rugby World Cup £2 market value
Find this on eBay
AffiliateRugby World Cup £2 price history
Daily limit reachedRugby World Cup £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 | £10.00 🔒 eBay | £10.00 (1) | – | £10.00 – £10.00 | 1 | 1 | 12-07-2026 | |
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| UNC | £7.50 🔒 eBay | £9.15 (2) | – | £7.50 – £10.80 | 2 | 2 | 10-08-2026 | |
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| BU | £6.99 🔒 eBay | £6.99 | 0% | £2.22 – £12.95 | 32 | 32 | 09-10-2026 | |
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| VF | £12.94 🔒 eBay | £3.15 | ▼18.8% | £1.20 – £33.98 | 56 | 56 | 13-10-2026 | |
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| VG | £5.45 🔒 eBay | £5.45 (1) | – | £5.45 – £5.45 | 1 | 1 | 11-02-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £9.50 🔒 eBay | £8.66 | – | £4.75 – £10.32 | 5 | 5 | 02-10-2026 | |
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| PR-68 | £23.88 🔒 eBay | £23.88 (1) | – | £23.88 – £23.88 | 1 | 1 | 07-06-2026 | |
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| PR-69 | £44.00 🔒 eBay | £26.50 (2) | – | £8.99 – £44.00 | 2 | 2 | 02-08-2026 | |
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| PR-70 | £148.00 🔒 eBay | £148.00 (1) | – | £148.00 – £148.00 | 1 | 1 | 28-03-2026 | |
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About the 1999 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Rugby World Cup
The 1999 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Rugby World Cup 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: Central rugby ball and goal posts surrounded by a stylised stadium, date above, legend below.
4,933,000 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 1999 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Rugby World Cup worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1999 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Rugby World Cup run from £3.15 to £148 across 9 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coins were made?
The Royal Mint's mintage figures give 4,933,000 struck for circulation, all dated 1999. In the same year the Mint struck 33,719,000 of the standard Technology £2, so roughly one 1999 £2 in eight carries the rugby design.
Is the Rugby World Cup £2 rare?
No. With 4,933,000 struck it sits in the upper half of commemorative £2 mintages: 22 of the 35 commemorative designs in the Royal Mint's circulating figures have lower totals. The scarcest £2 coins have mintages under one million.
Who designed the Rugby World Cup £2?
Ron Dutton designed the reverse, which shows a stadium with a rugby ball and goalposts superimposed on it. The obverse carries the fourth coinage portrait of Elizabeth II, by Ian Rank-Broadley, which was used on coins dated from 1998.
What is written on the edge of the Rugby World Cup £2?
The milled edge reads RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999 in incuse letters, as set out in the royal proclamation for the coin. The lettering can face either side of the coin. The Royal Mint says there is no right or wrong way up, so that is not an error.
Is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 legal tender?
Yes. The proclamation that created the coin made the cupro-nickel and nickel-brass version current and legal tender for payment of any amount in any part of the United Kingdom. It was struck for general circulation and can still be spent.
How do I identify the 1999 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Rugby World Cup?
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
The 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 marks the tournament played in 1999. The Royal Mint describes it as hosted by the Welsh Rugby Union, with matches in Wales, England, Ireland, Scotland and France, and a final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in which Australia beat France 35 to 12 to become the first team to win the cup twice. The coin was authorised by a royal proclamation given on 17 November 1998.
In the Royal Mint's circulating figures it is the first £2 to carry a commemorative design in place of the standard Technology reverse. The Mint struck 4,933,000 for circulation, against 33,719,000 Technology £2 coins dated 1999. Among the 35 commemorative £2 designs in those figures, 22 have lower mintages.
The reverse is by Ron Dutton. It shows a stadium on which a rugby ball and goalposts are superimposed, with the date 1999 above and TWO POUNDS below, the two separated by further goalposts. The Royal Mint says the goalposts around the design stand for the global reach of the sport.
The edge is milled with the incuse inscription RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999. The obverse carries the fourth coinage portrait of Elizabeth II, by Ian Rank-Broadley, with the legend ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REG FID DEF. Like other circulating £2 coins it has a nickel-brass outer ring and a cupro-nickel centre.
Varieties and errors
No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.
Coins are sometimes offered as errors because the edge lettering reads upside down when the Queen's head faces up. The Royal Mint has explained that the inscription is rolled onto the blank before striking, so it can face either way and there is no right or wrong orientation.
Collecting notes
This is a common coin that was struck for general circulation and remains legal tender. Check that the inner disc is centred in the ring, that the edge inscription is complete and that the lines of the stadium are still sharp.
Check Your Change notes that the Rugby coin was the only £2 in the Royal Mint's 1999 annual set, so the standard 1999 Technology £2 is the harder of the two to find unused. The royal proclamation also provided for gold and silver versions of the design. The gold coin has the same edge lettering on a plain edge.
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)
- £2 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 1999 Elizabeth II 'The 1999 Rugby World Cup' £2 Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and design for two-pound coins commemorating the Rugby World Cup 1999 (London Gazette issue 55324, 30 November 1998, pages 13028 to 13029), The London Gazette (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 1999 Two Pounds, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Why does the edge inscription on the £2 and £1 coins sometimes appear "upside down"?, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
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