Red Squirrel 2p (2023 to 2025)

Every Red Squirrel 2p comes from a brilliant uncirculated or proof set, so there are no worn circulation coins, and every example sells above face value. The date and finish set one coin apart from another: the 2023 set coins carry the Tudor Crown privy mark, and proofs are collected separately from brilliant uncirculated coins. Condition and presentation matter too, and a coin still sealed in its set or capsule is preferred to one that has been handled.

The Red Squirrel 2p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.

The tails side shows an upright red squirrel facing left over pine cones and branches, with a large 2 above PENCE on the left against a panel of interlocking Cs. The heads side carries King Charles III, CHARLES III DEI GRA REX FID DEF and the date. Since none was struck for circulation, a Red Squirrel 2p will have come from a set or another collector rather than your change. Coins from the 2023 sets have a small Tudor Crown privy mark next to the portrait.

Known varieties of the Red Squirrel 2p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:

• Tudor Crown privy mark (2023 sets): The 2023 coins in brilliant uncirculated and proof sets carry a Tudor Crown privy mark on the obverse.

The red squirrel was chosen for the 2p partly for its russet coat, which The Royal Mint noted suits the copper colour of the coin. The animal is also a conservation story: most of Britain's red squirrels now live in Scotland, and efforts to protect them aim to keep the species from dying out. It is one of eight plant and animal reverses, created by The Royal Mint and approved by King Charles III, that were revealed in 2023 as his first definitive coins. The squirrel sits upright and faces left, its bushy tail curled up behind it, above pine cones and branches, filling the right two-thirds of the coin. In the left third, a large 2 above PENCE is set over a repeating pattern of three interlocking Cs, based on the cypher of Charles II. Martin Jennings' portrait and the date are on the obverse. The Treasury has ordered no 2ps for circulation since 2017 apart from one batch in 2021, and the Red Squirrel 2p has so far been made only for collector sets.