Two Pounds 2001 Marconi, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

The bi-metallic £2 coin is the largest circulating coin denomination of the Pound Sterling. It was introduced in 1998 (earlier two pound coins were made of Nickel brass, were intended as commemorative, and did not circulate much). Being bi-metallic means that the coin comprises two separate components of differing alloys - a Nickel-Brass outer ring with inner circle of CuproNickel.

The Royal Mint maintains a "definitive" style of the £2 issued annually, as well as a large variety of one-year circulating commemorative types and some Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) £2 coins for collectors. Between 1997 and 2015, the definitive type was the Technology type £2, which was then changed to the Britannia type £2.

The one-year type coins celebrate important anniversaries or people, as well as iconic aspects of British culture and history.

This coin commemorates the 100th anniversary of Marconi’s wireless transmission across the Atlantic, which is why it also known as the 2001 Wireless Transmission £2 coin.

Guglielmo Marconi’s first wireless transmission across the Atlantic was a feat that had been thought impossible but, in December 1901, the letter "S" in Morse Code - three dots - was successfully transmitted from Poldhu in Cornwall to St John’s, Newfoundland. To commemorate Marconi’s historic achievement - an achievement that was to revolutionise global communication and bring tremendous benefits to mankind - The Royal Mint produced this special £2 coin. Taking radio waves as its theme, the design by Robert Evans symbolises Marconi’s impact on twentieth-century communication. Radio waves decorate both the centre and outer border while a spark of electricity links the zeros of the date and represents the generation of the signal.