Two Pounds 2021 H.G. Wells, 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 or are issued separately, 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 75th Anniversary of the birth of death of H.G Wells.

Herbert George Wells was a novelist, journalist, sociologist and historian best known for his science fiction novels such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. From humble beginnings, he endured financial hardship and illness as a child, finding solace in reading and learning. Drawn into the world of science, he went on to both amaze and unsettle the world with his uncannily accurate predictions of how the world might look in the future.

His ability to make science fiction believable brought his work and the genre to a whole new audience, earning him nicknames such as the ‘father of science fiction’. Nominated four times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, his influence extends far beyond the literary world and into modern society, where he has even had an impact crater on Mars named after him.

The Royal Mint says:
"Seventy-five years on from his death, we’re celebrating the imagination and enquiring mind of a man who helped shaped the world we live in. Chris Costello’s reverse design focuses on iconic images from Wells’ work, including The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man."

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