2 Shillings - Elizabeth II 1st portrait without 'BRITT:OMN' (1954–1970)

One row for each year the 2 Shillings - Elizabeth II 1st portrait – without 'BRITT:OMN' was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1954 2 Shillings - Elizabeth II – without 'BRITT:OMN'

The 1954 2 Shillings - Elizabeth II – without 'BRITT:OMN' is a circulating 2 shillings coin issued from 1954 to 1970, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 11.31g and measures 28.5mm across. Reverse design: Central Tudor rose surrounded by thistles, shamrocks and leeks, legend above, denomination and date below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 14 years between 1954 and 1967, 445,118,000 coins in all. 1958 is the scarcest date, with 9,564,500 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1993), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

From 1954 the obverse legend of every Elizabeth II coin lost the words BRITT OMN, and this florin is the result. Wikipedia, citing Seaby, says the change acknowledged a Commonwealth that by then included republics. The coin was otherwise unchanged from 1953: cupro-nickel, the same size and weight, and the same portrait and reverse.

It was struck every year from 1954 to 1967. Coin Hunter's figures total 445,118,356 for those fourteen dates. They range from 9,564,580 in 1958, the only date under ten million, to 83,999,000 in 1966. The ten pence coin of identical size and value replaced it in 1968, and later florins dated 1970 were struck only as proofs.

Mary Gillick's portrait of the young Queen, wearing a wreath, faces right. The Royal Mint Museum's 1954 example reads + ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRATIA · REGINA, and its edge is milled. Gillick won the portrait competition judged by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, and the Museum notes that her portrait stayed on circulating coins until decimalisation.

Edgar Fuller and Cecil Thomas designed the reverse. A Tudor rose sits at the centre, surrounded by thistles, shamrocks and leeks, with FID DEF, TWO SHILLINGS and the date. The designers' initials EF and CT sit to either side of the centre at the bottom. Wikipedia notes that there was early confusion over which way up the design went, and that the second L of SHILLINGS marks the bottom.

Collecting notes

Tony Clayton notes that all florins were revalued at 10p in 1971, and Wikipedia records that florins, mostly dated 1947 or later, stayed in use until the old large 10p was withdrawn. The florin was demonetised in 1993, on 30 June by Wikipedia's account, so none can be spent now.

For a date run, 1958 is the one to look for, followed by 1954 and 1960. The 1966 and 1965 dates are the most common. Check the obverse legend: an example that still reads BRITT OMN is the 1953 florin, the only year with those words.

The 1970 florins came only in the last proof sets of the pre-decimal coinage, so a 1970 coin with a worn or satin finish should be checked carefully.