Agatha Christie £2 (2020)

The Agatha Christie £2 exists only in collector form, so the version and its packaging decide the value. The brilliant uncirculated coin came in a special pack with hidden clues and surprises to hunt for, and a complete pack is worth more than the coin on its own. Capsule and set coins follow, while the silver proof, silver piedfort and gold proof sit in separate, higher brackets. Handling marks on the small clue pieces lower the price of any coin.

The Agatha Christie £2 was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.

The Agatha Christie £2 is covered in jigsaw pieces, each carrying a small clue such as a pistol or a bottle labelled POISON. One piece with a question mark on it sits raised in the middle, not yet slotted in. Her handwritten signature is at the lower left of the centre, and the years 1920 and 2020 face each other across the ring. The edge reads LITTLE GREY CELLS.

Agatha Christie's first published novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, appeared in 1920 and featured Hercule Poirot, and she went on to earn the title of Queen of Crime. The Royal Mint marked the centenary in 2020, working with Agatha Christie Ltd, and it was the first time she had been honoured on an official UK coin. David Lawrence's reverse is a nearly finished jigsaw puzzle whose pieces carry the tools of a Christie plot, among them a pistol and a bottle marked POISON, her favoured method. The last piece, marked with a question mark, hovers at the centre about to drop into place, the jigsaw standing for the plot twists of a Christie story. Her own signature sits at the lower left. The ring carries 1920 on the left, 2020 on the right and a line celebrating a century of mystery across the top. The edge reads LITTLE GREY CELLS, the phrase Poirot first used in that first novel. Jody Clark's fifth portrait of the Queen is on the obverse.