Prince of Wales Feathers (TWO PENCE) 2p (1982 to 2008)

Almost every date was struck in very large numbers, and circulated TWO PENCE 2ps trade at face value. Collectors look at the metal as much as the date: bronze 1992 and 1999 coins only come from sets, and the 1998 date is collected in both metals. The set-only 1982 to 1984 coins with the Machin portrait are the other dates worth keeping, and the 2008 feathers coins were the smallest circulation date. A silver coloured 2p struck on the wrong blank is a separate error, judged apart from the normal coins.

With 6,508,341,200 struck for circulation, the Prince of Wales Feathers (TWO PENCE) 2p is the third rarest of the 3 ranked 2p designs and has the 193rd lowest mintage of all 194 circulating UK designs. That puts it in the Common band, for mintages 10,000,000 or more.

No 2p design has a higher circulation mintage. The next rarer is the Prince of Wales Feathers (NEW PENCE) 2p, with 3,102,637,250 struck.

Its lowest circulation mintage was in 2008, with 10,600,000 struck.

Look for the feathers badge with TWO PENCE above and a beaded border; NEW PENCE means a coin from 1971 to 1981, unless it is the 1983 error. A magnet sorts the metals: bronze coins do not stick, and the steel coins made from September 1992 do. The 1998 date comes in both metals, while bronze 1992 and 1999 coins come only from proof and brilliant uncirculated sets. For 1993, compare the P in PENCE to tell the two reverses apart.

Known varieties of the Prince of Wales Feathers (TWO PENCE) 2p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:

• 1993 reverse modification: Two slightly different reverses exist for 1993; the easiest difference to see is the shape of the P in PENCE.
• Bronze or steel in 1992, 1998 and 1999: A magnet separates them: 1992 bronze coins come only from sets, 1998 circulation coins were struck in both metals, and 1999 bronze coins come only from proof and brilliant uncirculated sets.
• Silver coloured 2p (wrong blank): A 2p struck on a blank meant for another coin, such as a 10p, comes out silver coloured. Examples are known dated from 1982 to 2008. Silver proof 2p coins from sets are not this error.

From 1982 the 2p dropped the word NEW and read TWO PENCE, but Christopher Ironside's design otherwise carried on: the Prince of Wales's badge of three ostrich feathers in a coronet, the ICH DIEN ribbon beneath, the numeral 2 below and a beaded rim. No 2ps were struck for circulation from 1982 to 1984, so those dates exist only in proof and brilliant uncirculated sets, with Arnold Machin's portrait. Circulation coins began in 1985 with Raphael Maklouf's portrait. The biggest change came in September 1992, when rising metal prices on world markets led to a switch from bronze to copper-plated steel, which is magnetic. In 1998, the year Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait arrived, circulation 2ps were struck in both metals. The reverse was also slightly re-cut in 1993, leaving two versions of that year that differ most visibly in the P of PENCE. Ironside's feathers were last used in 2008, struck alongside Matthew Dent's new shield 2p, after almost four decades on the coin.