Two Pounds 2017 Jane Austen, 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; the outer ring of the coins is made of Nickel-Brass (76% copper, 4% nickel, 20% zinc) and the inner circle is CuproNickel (75% copper, 25% nickel).

The Royal Mint maintains a "definitive" style of the £2 issued annually, as well as a large variety of one-year circulating commemorative types.

In 2017, the mint also started issuing some Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) £2 coins for collectors. These are included in the annual mint sets, but are not released into general circulation. Their themes celebrate important anniversaries or people, as well as iconic aspects of British culture and history.

This commemorative £2 coin marks 200 years since the death of British author Jane Austen.

It might surprise fans to learn that Jane Austen was almost entirely unknown during her lifetime. Soon after she died, in 1817, aged just 41, her works, including "Emma", "Persuasion", and even "Pride and Prejudice", all went out of print. It was only when her nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, released "A Memoir of Jane Austen" in 1870 that she was born again to a wider Victorian public. Soon the cult of Austen fans, sometimes known as "Janeites", was established and, since then, The Jane Austen Society has developed branches across the globe.

The reverse of the coin was designed by the Royal Mint designer, Dominique Evans; her design has been approved by Professor John Mullan, a leading Jane Austen academic.

These £2 coins were struck in various collector formats but none were issued into general circulation.