✅ Rare 2p coins

Out of the millions of 2p coins minted in the UK every year, there are a small number of UK 2p coins that become rare and valuable.

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Considering we usually have lots of these floating about in our bags, it’s well worth taking a quick look and seeing if you’ve got one.

There are quite a few UK coins that are valuable, and in more recent years, specific coins have been circulated as collections and moire people than ever have become interested in collecting them.

The Olympic games 50p collection was the first time many of us started collecting rarer coins and since then, 50p coins have been used to commemorate many occasions.

Other coins that have become collectable and therefore valuable include the 10p, 20p and £2 coin. Like these, the 2p also includes some that are worth a lot more than their face value!

✅ Rare 2p

Due to either error or scarcity, these are some of the most valuable 2p coins:

Silver 2p coin
1983 2p coin
Original 1971 2p coin
Copper-less 2p error coin

✅ Which 2p coins are valuable?

What makes a 2p valuable? Anything that makes it stand out of being different.

There are occasionally errors at the Mint which result in a 2p coin being circulated by accident, these tend to be rare and because they are, it pushes the price up if you happen to have one.

Age can also make a 2p coin rare, simply because there are less of them about.

Some examples of this are the 2p coin that was minted in silver instead of copper, or the original 1971 2p coins introduced when UK currency changed to decimals.

Both are rare, and collectors pay more money to have one in their collection.

When a 2p coin is minted, as with any coin, they’re produced and distributed in their thousands, often hundreds of thousands.

As and when a coin is minted in very low mintage numbers or in error, the resulting coin is often very valuable because there are simply very few of them.

✅ Silver 2p coin

A 2p is usually copper plated and this 2p coin is made from silver! An error coin minted accidentally in the wrong metal, one of these 2016 coins sold for just over £40 on eBay recently.

✅ 1983 2p coin

In 1983, the wording on the 2p coin changed. instead of ‘NEW’, all 2p’s would have ‘TWO’ minted on them.

There were however, a batch of 2p coins monted with the old inscription of ‘NEW’ instead of ‘TWO during 1983, and if you find a 1983 2p with the old wording on it, you could cash it in to the tune of approx £500 at auction.

The Royal Mint isn’t sure how many there are of these in existence, so well worth checking your change!

✅ Copper-less 2p error coin

Accidentally minted in nickle plated steel instead of copper plated steel, this 2p fetched over £400 at auction.

They’re very rare, but if you come across a silvery coloured 2p in your purse, you might want to take a further look!

✅ Original 1971 2p coin

1971 was the year UK currency changed over to decimal, and these original 2p coins from that same year are becomming quite collectable.

They’re not going to fetch the big money just yet, with a selling price of around £2.50 right now, but hang onto these as they’ll become rarer and more valuable as more leave circulation and new coins are issued.

✅ What to do if you find a rare coin

If you’ve had a good look through your coins and found one you think is potentially valuable, the first thing to do is get it verified to make sure it’s not a fake.

There are loads of fake coins in circulation, so it’s important to make sure the coins real before you think about selling it.

You could take it to a coin collector, or contact The Royal Mint itself and they’ll be able to help you verify it’s authenticity. It’s unlikely they’ll give you a valuation, but they can verify the coins genuine.