Charles Dickens 2 Pound Coin
- The website analysed 5,000 circulating Britannia £2 coins and its results suggest that the inverted effigy may have affected as few as 1 in 200 of the coins struck – or just 3,250 coins in total.
- The 2012 Charles Dickens design is the thirtysecond rarest £2 coin in circulation and has a value of 2 pounds, but collectors of coins currently pay £2.55. to own this coin. Change Checking Chances: When receiving a £2 coin in your change you have about a 1 in 110 chance of finding this design.
This is the rare Charles Dickens 2 pound coin very collectible and rare. 2010 Florence Nightingale 2 pound coin 1820-1910 circulated MINTING ERROR. Aberdeen, North East Scotland.
According to changechecker, the 2012 two pound coin commemorating that great Victorian wordsmith Charles Dickens was the second most sought after £2 coin in 2013. As a giant of 19th century British literature readers will have Great Expectations of todays blog post.
The coin is the same venerable 12.0 gram bimetallic disc familiar to so many in Britain and beyond, with the standard IRB portrait of Queen Elizabeth II adorning the inner cupro-nickel disc of the obverse face. The now standard text consumes the outer nickel-brass disc, with beading noticeably present on both.
The edge features the text SOMETHING WILL TURN UP, spoken by Wilkins Micawber in the Dickens novel David Copperfield, this being a reflection of the stiff upper lips, hopeful expectations and eternal optimism that pervades the British Isles. Micawberish and Micawberesque have both crept into the English language, meaning something along the lines of being in poverty with hope of better fortune.
Turning now to the reverse face we see the text 1812 CHARLES DICKENS 1870 and what might seem at first to be a random jumble of words. Closer inspection reveals the names of many of Dickens much loved works arranged in such a way as to create a profile of the great man, landmark beard and all. The small MD at 3 o’clock tells us that Matthew Dent is the designer of this masterpiece of the mint, such a shame only 8.2 million were produced.
Could your Charles Dickens £2 really be worth a fortune?
Every keen collector knows that it is worthwhile paying close attention to the small details of your coins – it’s the only way you can ever hope to spot an error. However, it’s also important to know when you have a genuine rarity (and when you don’t). There are a few stories which crop up more often than others, and one of them is the elaborated value of the Charles Dickens £2. So hopefully this post will help dispel some of the myths about the coin.
The Charles Dickens £2 coin was issued by The Royal Mint in 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of one of Britain’s most famous and beloved writers. The design features Dickens’ recognisable profile crafted from the titles of his most famous works and is a favourite amongst collectors.
But recently, a number of stories have been popping up regarding the ‘errors’ people have noticed, such as fading dots around the centre part, upside down edge lettering and misspelling of the edge inscription. In fact, some of these coins have even been listed on eBay for thousands of pounds, leaving Change Checkers wondering “how much is the Charles Dickens’ £2 coin actually worth?”
The value of the Charles Dickens £2 coin is often elaborated on online market places such as eBay as seen here the £2 coin is listed for £3,500. Credit: eBay
But before you get too excited and consider putting your Charles Dickens up for sale, let’s take a look at what these ‘errors’ really mean…
Disappearing dots
This has also been found on many other £2 coins so is not exclusive to the Dickens coin, where the dots that should that go all around the silver centre of the coin suddenly disappear. Unfortunately this wouldn’t actually add any value to the coin, as it is simply caused by the mass production process, where millions of coins are being struck at once and the dies get worn down. It’s difficult to ensure all coins look exactly the same considering the millions of coins that are struck at one time, but we definitely feel that variations like this makes collecting more exciting.
Dots around silver centre disappearing. Credit: eBay
Upside down lettering
Upside down lettering is very common on bi-metallic coins and can be seen on many of the £2 coins you find in your change. Again, this isn’t actually an error, but a variation to look out for on your coins. It happens during the minting process, when the edge lettering is applied before the obverse and reverse of the coin has even been struck. This then explains why some coins can end up with the edge lettering appearing upside down.
Misspelled edge inscription
Many people have noticed that there is a ‘miss spelled’ WILL on the edge inscription of their Charles Dickens £2 coin. This is actually caused by a worn out die, where the end of the L has been worn down to look like an I. This is a common variation amongst coins and can also be seen on the 2005 Gunpowder plot £2, which now has many variations of edge inscription due to the worn out R appearing as a P.
Charles Dickens 2 Pound Coin Mint Error
Edge inscription ‘WILL’ spelt ‘WII’. Credit: eBay
The Charles Dickens £2 coin actually only ranks as ‘common’ on our Scarcity Index, however it’s fascinating to hear about the different variations people have noticed on their coins and looking out for these makes for great coin collecting!
Unfortunately, people listing coins like this on eBay hoping for elaborate amounts are usually just chancers looking for a quick buck and rarely mean the coin is actually an error.
It’s the differences caused by human error, such as a wrong date or design or even the wrong metal used that are a lot more sought after and would likely have added value for your coin – so be sure to keep a look out for these!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
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– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Charles Dickens 2 Pound Coin
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