VE Day £2 (2020)

Because the VE Day £2 never circulated, prices are set by brilliant uncirculated and proof coins. A sealed Royal Mint pack, whose packaging tells the story of the day, sells ahead of a bare coin. For a loose coin taken from a pack or the annual set, condition decides the price, so check the crowd of small raised figures for rubbing and knocks. Certified cards and capsules keep a coin clean. The silver and gold proofs, including the piedfort, are priced as separate issues.

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

The VE Day £2 shows a crowd scene: packed figures celebrate in the centre, one woman holding a newspaper over her head. Behind them the word VICTORY is written in large capitals. The outer ring reads 1945 and 2020 at the top and VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY at the bottom, and the edge carries JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW. Queen Elizabeth II is on the other side. It came in annual sets and packs rather than in change, so any loose example started life in one of those.

Germany's surrender brought Victory in Europe Day on 8 May 1945, declared a public holiday, and crowds filled the streets of Britain to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. For the 75th anniversary in 2020, The Royal Mint worked with Imperial War Museums on this £2 coin, and sales of the coin supported the museums' work. It was first issued in the 2020 annual coin set. The design is by Dominique Evans, a Royal Mint graphic designer whose earlier work includes the Jane Austen £2 of 2017. She put people at the centre of the coin: a woman lifts a newspaper high above a celebrating crowd, while the word VICTORY stands in huge letters behind them and rays spread out from the centre as a sign of hope. The dates 1945 and 2020 run across the top of the outer ring, with VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY around the bottom. The edge reads JUST TRIUMPH AND PROUD SORROW. Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse, and the design was also struck in silver proof, silver proof piedfort and gold proof.