Dove of Peace £2 (1995)

Collectors pay above face value even for circulated examples of the dove £2 coin. The broad smooth field around the bird shows every scratch and knock, and the fine feather detail on the wing softens with wear, so both are worth checking closely. Brilliant uncirculated coins from the Royal Mint pack issued for the anniversary sell for more, especially when the pack is unopened.

With 4,394,566 struck for circulation, the Dove of Peace £2 is the 25th rarest of the 44 ranked £2 designs and has the 94th lowest mintage of all 194 circulating UK designs. That puts it in the Uncommon band, for mintages 2,500,000 to 9,999,999.

The next rarer £2 is the Bill of Rights £2, with 4,392,825 struck, and the next more common is the Marconi £2, with 4,558,000 struck.

If the tails side shows only a bird in flight carrying a sprig, with no words or date anywhere, you have the Dove of Peace coin. The dove faces left, and its wing and tail fill the right of the coin. The edge confirms it: 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995. The coin is one yellow metal throughout, while the later St Paul's Cathedral £2 for the sixtieth anniversary is two-coloured, so the two are easy to separate.

The Second World War ended in 1945, with victory in Europe in May and the surrender of Japan later that summer. Fifty years on, in 1995, The Royal Mint issued this £2 to mark the anniversary. John Mills gave it a single image: a stylised dove, the symbol of peace, flying to the left with a leafy sprig held in its beak. Its outstretched wing and fanned tail feathers sweep across the right-hand side of the field. Mills left the reverse without any words or date. The message is carried on the edge instead, which is lettered 1945 IN PEACE GOODWILL 1995. The coin is struck in a single piece of nickel-brass and has Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. The sixtieth anniversary was later marked by a different £2 that shows St Paul's Cathedral.