The original
reverse of the coin, designed by
Bruce Rushin, is an abstract design symbolising the history of technological achievement, accompanied by the words TWO POUNDS above, and the year of minting below. This was the first
bi-metallic coin to be produced for circulation in Britain since the
tin farthing with a copper plug produced in 1692, and is the highest-denomination coin in common circulation in the UK. The coin consists of an outer yellow metal nickel-brass ring made from 76%
copper, 20%
zinc, and 4%
nickel, and an inner steel-coloured cupro-nickel disc made from 75% copper, 25% nickel. The coin weighs and is in diameter. The design itself was first tried out in 1994 when the
Royal Mint produced a short run of demonstration pieces to the new bi-metal standard. These pieces were not for circulation and were simply intended to test the manufacturing process. The coin was technically similar to the version which eventually entered circulation with the Maklouf effigy of
Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and the image of a sailing ship similar to that previously used on the reverse of the
pre-decimal halfpenny piece. The inscription on the reverse read ROYAL MINT TRIAL 1994 with an edge inscription based on the one pound coin which read DECUS ET TUTAMEN ANNO REGNI XLVI, meaning "An ornament and a safeguard – [in the] 46th year of [her] reign". The 1994 pieces were never legal tender but were eventually released for sale as part of a presentation set in 1998. At the same time in 1994 the Royal Mint produced a mono-metallic trial two-pound coin, with the same ship reverse and inscription, but otherwise similar to the earlier commemorative coins. These were never issued in presentation sets, and so are much scarcer than the bi-metallic version. Because of technical difficulties, the 1997-dated coins, which bear the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by
Raphael Maklouf, were not released to circulation until June 1998 (the same time as the 1998-dated coins). Coins dated 1998 and later bear the effigy of the Queen by
Ian Rank-Broadley. The Maklouf-effigy coins bear the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D The new coins feature the edge inscription QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO, meaning "I claim the four seas", an inscription previously featured on coins bearing the image of Britannia. In October 2023 the King Charles III two-pound coin was presented; the coin features the national flowers – a rose for England, a daffodil for Wales, a thistle for Scotland and a shamrock for Northern Ireland. The coin has the edge inscription IN SERVITIO OMNIUM ("In the service of all"), taken from the King's inaugural speech in September 2022. ==Variants==