Two Pounds 1997 Technology, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

The obverse of the coin shows the crowned bust of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right (her effigy known as the "Third Portrait"). The Queen is wearing the royal diadem which she used to wear on her way to and from the State Opening of Parliament, a pearl necklace and earrings.

Incuse in tiny letters on the neck truncation, the designer's initials RDM (for Raphael David Maklouf).

Around, the monarch's legend: + ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRATIA · REGINA · F · D. Translated from Latin: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith.

Representing the advances made in industrial and technological fields, the reverse design spirals outward from the Iron Age core, to the Industrial era, the age of the computer and finally ends with the outer ring symbolising the Internet. The central area contains a latent feature which, when tilted, transforms the image of four separate scrolls into an image of eight intertwined scrolls.

Around above, the value and denomination in words: TWO POUNDS; around below, the date: 1997.

The designer's initials BR (for Bruce Rushin) are incuse in an ornament in the right part of the second ring.

Mintage figure comprised of:
13,734,625 coins released into circulation
109,557 coins in mint sets
? specimen grade issued in presentation folder
80,748 proofs
Off-metal strikes not included.

The comparative rarity of the Maklouf-effigy coins ("the ones with the necklace") has led to an urban myth that they are much more valuable than the other coins, but this is not true - there were over 13 million 1997-dated £2 coins issued. Another urban myth about the coin is that putting it in the freezer overnight causes the cupro-nickel centre to pop out, a claim which had been true of some early mintings of the similarly bimetallic Canadian 2 dollar coin.