2 Two Pound Coins Queen with Necklace Rumour

Necklet RumourWe tell the
History of the British Two Pound Coin in full on our websites, which we
are not allowed to mention here, however we keep getting so many
enquiries, phone calls, e-mails, and visitors asking, that we have
provided this separate page specifically to make it quicker and easier
for you to find the information you want.An Urban MythDuring
1999, we became aware of a persistent rumour that a two pound coin with
the queen wearing a necklet was worth 15. There is no truth in this
rumour. It is the sort of story which appears to start for no
particular reason, and then self-perpetuates in a form of "Chinese
whispers", so that it begees part of an urban folklore of
misinformation.1997 Bi-metallic IssueThe
rumour relates to the 1997 new bi-metallic two pounds coin. The nearest
we can gee to solving the "mystery of the queen's necklet" is that a
listener phoned a Red Rose Radio / Rock FM phone-in programme, and said
that he had heard, from where or whom we do not know, that a two pound
coin with the queen wearing a necklet was worth 15. That afternoon we
received about four telephone calls all asking was it true, etc.. We
were able to quickly ascertain that there was no known rarity or error.Obverse of 1997 2 Gold Proof1986 to 1996 Nickel-brass IssuesAll
two pound coins from 1986 to 1997 bear the queen's third portrait in
which she is shown wearing what appears to be a pearl necklet, from
1998 the obverse (head side) design changed to a more mature fourth
portrait, in which the portrait of Her Majesty is shown truncated at
the neck rather than the shoulder. She therefore appears without a
necklet.Obverse of 1986 Nickel Brass IssueThe Rumour Won't Die!We
had originally thought that within a few weeks of the radio programme,
this particular rumour would die a natural death, but unfortunately it
appears to have started to replicate itself, and we still receive
numerous telephone calls and e-mails about it. As the weeks pass by,
the "value" jumps around, and although 15 is the gemonest figure we
hear, sometimes it changes to 5, 17, and other figures.Some People Know BetterA
few weeks after the programme, we had a visitor who asked us about the
story, and when we told him the facts, he informed us that we were
wrong (so why he asked we don't know!), and that he knew somebody who
had sold one for 15 plus the 2 face value. We told him that we could
find hundreds of them, and that if he could point us to the buyer we
would split the profits with him. Apparently it was someone he was
talking to in a pub who had sold it to a dealer in Birkenhead. So far
he has not been back to claim his share of our potential profits!If
anybody out there knows who made the phone call to the radio station,
please let us know, or better still shoot him, and then let us know!It Can't Be True - It Was In "The Sun"Since
we wrote the above, we believe that the rumour has also appeared in
"The Sun" newspaper, which is probably enough to warn most people that
the rumour is totally unfounded, and on at least one TV programme.Obviously the rumour-monger is really having great fun!Mintage FiguresIt
is true to say that there were some initial problems with this (the
1997 dated 2 coin, the first of the new bi-metallic two pound coins to
be produced. Although it was the UK's first bimetallic coin, they have
been in use in other countries for quite a few years, and the Royal
Mint have been responsible for producing many bi-metallic coins for
other countries.Teething Troubles With Vending MachinesA
small number of vending machine manufacturers appear to have had
problems calibrating their older equipment to the "electronic
signature" of the new coin, and because of this, the new coin was not
officially launched until June 1998, instead of November 1997 as
originally planned.Never RecalledBecause
of this, some people have "guessed" or assumed that the 1997 dated
coins must have been recalled, or only issued in small quantities. This
is not the case.Quantities IssuedThe
Royal Mint's issue figures for 1997 show 13,734,625 nickel-brass two
pound coins were issued in 1997, followed by 67,268,125 in 1998,
excluding special editions for sale to collectors. It is possible that
some of the coins produced and issued in 1998 were actually dated 1997,
because the Royal Mint, being an efficient factory, does not discard
its stock of perfectly usable dies on December 31st each year, but
continues using its stock for several months into the new year. During
a visit to the Royal Mint on Thursday 9th March 2000, I saw 1999 dated
2 coins still being produced. From this and a small random sampling of
2 coins in circulation, I think it is safe to assume that about 14
million 1997's were issued.We have a mintage figures page on one of our websites.Obverse of 1998 Onwards IssuesEnough To Go Around?Obviously
if every one of the UK's approximate 60 million population decided that
all wanted a 1997 2 coin, there would not be enough to go around, and
in that case I am sure they would start selling for a few pounds over
their face value, but it is more likely that any collectors would
prefer the superior finish of the specimen version which we sell at
about 6 each.Two Much Rarer CoinsIf
anybody thinks that 14 million is a low mintage figure, they would be
well advised to look at the year 2006 gold sovereigns and half
sovereigns. Only a maximum of 75,000 of each will be produced, making
them over 100 times rarer. Because they are an historic gold coin with
world-wide recognition, they will be in great demand. Our selling price
for sovereigns, currently 108 each, represents about 30 or less than
40% premium over their intrinsic metal value (about 80).Previous Two Pound CoinsFrom
1986 to 1996, 2 coins were produced in nickel-brass, which looks a
goldish colour. "Only" 25,631,047 were produced in six different
designs in five different years.This makes a total of 39,365,672 "necklet" two pound coins - hardly rare! Other MetalsAlmost
all of the 2 coins issued from 1986 onwards have also been issued in
collector's editions as proofs in silver and in gold. These issues were
always sold in plastic screw capsules in leatherette boxes, with Royal
Mint certificates. If you find a gold coloured one without a box and
certificate, then it is almost certainly a nickel-brass one issued
between 1986 and 1996. The silver proof versions are obviously worth
more than 2 each, and similarly the gold proof ones are also worth
considerably more.Other GuidesYou may be interested in viewing our other guides:-
How to Photograph Coins - Advice, hints, tips