Two Pounds 2018 RAF Centenary - F35 Lightning, 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 £2 coin commemorates the Centenary (100th anniversary) of the Royal Air Force (RAF), which was founded in 1918. It is the fifth and final of five RAF coins issued in 2018 and features on the reverse the F35 Lightning II fighter jet.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multi-role combat aircraft. It is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions while also providing electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the carrier-based F-35C (CV/CATOBAR).

The Royal Mint says:
"The Royal Air Force, founded at the end of the First World War, was the world’s first independent air force, and has gone on to become recognised around the world for advancement in aviation. We’re proud to join the RAF100 celebrations with an exciting five-coin series to mark the centenary, and the Lightning II is the final icon of the air to fly on to a coin in 2018.The coins in this celebratory collection have been chosen to represent the past, present and future of the RAF, and few aircraft illustrate the future of the RAF better than the Lightning II jet plane.

The reverse unusually features a collaborative design by brothers Richard and Neil Talbot, who have brought their skills together on each of the aircraft coins in this series. Their depiction of the Lightning II places the clean lines of the jet plane centre stage, with a darkened sky that seems to recede away from the speedy aircraft."

The motto of the Royal Air Force "Per Ardua Ad Astra", meaning "Through Adversity to the Stars" captures the courage and spirit of both the Royal Air Force and the exceptional people who have pioneered in aviation since 1918; it is inscribed on the edge of the coin.

Unlike the early coins in the series, these £2 coins were struck in various collector formats but none were issued into general circulation.