Two Pounds 2016 Army, 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 circulating commemorative £2 coin marks the 100th Anniversary of the First World War and the role and contribution of the Royal Navy in it.

This is the third coin in a five-year series, on a journey from "outbreak to armistice". In 2016 The Royal Mint’s programme of commemoration marking the centenary of the First World War continued with this United Kingdom £2 coin honouring the British Army.

The Royal Mint says:
"In 1914 tensions in South Eastern Europe would spill over into war; a conflict that would engulf the rest of Europe, then the world. This was a new kind of warfare, fought on an industrial scale by land, sea and air. The tactics of the past were rendered obsolete by new technology and the sheer scale of the combat. The British Army needed to swell its ranks, so the call went out to enlist. To aid the recruitment drive, men were permitted to serve alongside those they knew in Pals Battalions - friends, neighbours and workmates serving side by side.

As part of our five-year programme of commemoration, this poignant £2 coin by the team at creative agency Uniform is a respectful way to remember the camaraderie of those men and the unity and pride of the communities they volunteered to defend."

£2 coins issued in 2016 have now been in circulation for eight years.