Two Pounds 2025 Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 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 350th Anniversary of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

The mint says about it:
In 1675, the Royal Observatory became the first state-funded, purpose-built scientific institution in Britain, dedicated to improving sea navigation, cartography and timekeeping. The Royal Observatory is the historic source of the Prime Meridian of the World, 0° longitude, which marks the divide between the eastern and western hemispheres.

Sir Christopher Wren, who sat on the Royal Commission that recommended the foundation of an observatory, suggested using the ruined Greenwich Castle as the site for the groundbreaking institution. Construction took place with remarkable speed and was funded by an impressively small budget, and the first stone of the Royal Observatory was laid by John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, in August 1675.

For the next three centuries, astronomers at Greenwich observed the stars to improve navigation at sea and to define accurate time standards that became an essential part of modern travel, trade and communications.

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