Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 51 verified sales in the last 12 months.
2 Pounds - Elizabeth II 5th portrait Shakespeare, Tragedy (2016)
"Shakespeare Tragedies £2"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2016 |
| Denomination | 2 Pounds |
| Face value | £2 |
| Mintage | 4,615,000 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Shakespeare Commemoratives |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Bimetallic: copper-nickel center in nickel brass ring |
| Weight | 12.000g |
| Diameter | 28.4mm |
| Thickness | 2.50mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled: WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Jody Clark |
| Rev. artist | John Bergdahl |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fifth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the George IV State Diadem, legend around.
· ELIZABETH · II · D · G · REG · F · D · 2 POUNDS ·
A skull next to a rose, legend around, date below.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 2016
Shakespeare, Tragedy £2 market value
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AffiliateShakespeare, Tragedy £2 price history
Daily limit reachedShakespeare, Tragedy £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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BU | £10.80 🔒 eBay | £10.80 | – | £7.59 – £10.80 | 3 | 3 | 02-10-2026 | |
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| VF | £4.11 🔒 eBay | £3.96 | ▼8.2% | £1.37 – £90.00 | 46 | 46 | 15-10-2026 | |
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| MS-67 | £24.08 🔒 | £24.08 (1) | – | £24.08 – £24.08 | 1 | 1 | 19-09-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £19.50 🔒 eBay | £19.50 (1) | – | £19.50 – £19.50 | 1 | 1 | 13-09-2026 | |
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About the 2016 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Shakespeare, Tragedy
The 2016 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Shakespeare, Tragedy is a circulating 2 pounds coin in the Shakespeare Commemoratives series, struck in bimetallic: copper-nickel center in nickel brass ring. It weighs 12g and measures 28.4mm across. Reverse design: A skull next to a rose, legend around, date below.
4,615,000 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 2016 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Shakespeare, Tragedy worth?
Verified sold prices for the 2016 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Shakespeare, Tragedy run from £3.96 to £24.08 across 4 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many Shakespeare Tragedies £2 coins were made?
The Royal Mint's figures record 4,615,000 struck for circulation. That places it between its two sister coins: the Comedies £2 at 4,355,000 and the Histories £2 at 5,655,000. Some older references still show an earlier, higher figure.
How do I spot the Shakespeare Tragedies £2 error?
Read the edge. A normal coin says WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN. The error coin has the skull and rose design but its edge says FOR KING AND COUNTRY, the inscription that belongs to the 2016 Army £2. Lettering that is merely upside down is not an error.
How many Shakespeare Tragedies error coins are there?
Nobody knows, and the Royal Mint has published no figure. The cataloguer at Spink, which offered a graded example at auction, estimated that the wrong edge might affect as many as 1 in 100 or as few as 1 in 10,000 of the 4,615,000 coins. That is an auctioneer's estimate only.
What do the skull and rose on the Shakespeare £2 mean?
They stand for the tragedies. Change Checker explains the skull as Yorick's, from the scene in Hamlet where the prince addresses the dead jester, and the rose as a reference to Romeo and Juliet. The edge inscription is also taken from Hamlet.
Who designed the Shakespeare Tragedies £2?
John Bergdahl designed the reverse, as he did for the Comedies and Histories coins issued with it in 2016. The obverse carries the fifth coinage portrait of Elizabeth II, by Jody Clark, with the denomination 2 POUNDS in the legend.
How do I identify the 2016 2 Pounds - Elizabeth II – Shakespeare, Tragedy?
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 Tragedies £2 is one of three coins issued in 2016 for the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, alongside coins for the comedies and the histories. All three were authorised by one royal proclamation, given on 8 October 2015.
The Royal Mint's figures record 4,615,000 Tragedies coins struck for circulation. That sits between the Comedies coin at 4,355,000 and the Histories coin at 5,655,000. Change Checker reports that a higher figure was first published and that the Mint corrected it in 2019, which is why some older lists rank the three coins differently.
It is the one coin of the trio with a documented mint error: a small number carry the wrong edge inscription.
The reverse is by John Bergdahl. The proclamation describes it as a skull next to a rose, with the inscription WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 2016. Change Checker explains the skull as Yorick's, from the scene in Hamlet in which the prince speaks to the dead jester's skull, and the rose as a reference to Romeo and Juliet.
The edge is milled and reads WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN in incuse letters, the opening of a line from Hamlet.
The obverse carries the fifth coinage portrait of Elizabeth II, by Jody Clark. The reverse has no statement of value, so the obverse legend ends with 2 POUNDS.
Varieties and errors
Some Tragedies coins have the edge inscription FOR KING AND COUNTRY, which belongs to the Army £2 of the same year. Change Checker reports that a small group was found in 2020 and puts the error down to a mix-up of blanks, which it says can happen when blanks are not properly changed over before a new batch of coins is struck.
Spink has offered an example at auction graded as a mint error by NGC. Its cataloguer's preliminary estimate was that the error might affect as many as 1 in 100 or as few as 1 in 10,000 of the Tragedies coins. That is one auction house's estimate. The Royal Mint has published no figure, and no Royal Mint statement on the error was found.
An edge that reads WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN upside down is not this error. The Royal Mint's FAQ explains that edge lettering is rolled onto the blank before striking and can fall either way up.
Check Your Change also reports counterfeits of this coin, which show the older fourth portrait of the Queen.
Collecting notes
Read the edge on every example. The wording is the only thing that separates the error from the normal coin, and it cannot be judged from a photograph of the faces alone. Confirm the obverse too: a genuine coin has Jody Clark's portrait with 2 POUNDS in the legend.
The coin was struck for circulation and remains current. The proclamation also provides for silver, silver piedfort and gold versions, each listed separately on this site.
The lowest-mintage coin of the three is the Comedies £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)
- Two Pound Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and designs for a new series of two pound coins (London Gazette issue 61384, 16 October 2015), The London Gazette (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2016 Elizabeth II 'The Shakespeare Tragedies' £2 Coin, The Royal Mint (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)
- To collect, or not to collect...the Shakespeare £2 coins!, Change Checker (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2016 Two Pounds, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Mis-strikes and myths, Change Checker (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Lot 9230, Elizabeth II 'Shakespeare' Two-Pounds, 2016, 'Tragedies', FOR KING AND COUNTRY edge (Spink Numismatic e-Circular 14, auction 21171), Spink (read 9 Oct 2026)
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