Robert Murray Stamp Shop,
Edinburgh
Established 1977
Retail shop,
auctioneers, mail order
www.stamp-shop.com
|
United
Kingdom
Two
Pence Coins
An
"Urban Myth"
Stories
are circulating about the scarcity of certain decimal two pence (2p)
coins,
to the effect that those inscribed "New
Pence" are scarce. This is not
true.
Here are the simple facts.
In
1971
when decimal currency was intruduced, all coins (½p, 1p, 2p, 5p,
10p, 50p) had the denomination in words including the word ("NEW").
In
1982,
the design was changed so that the text said "TWO PENCE" rather than
"NEW
PENCE", and the same change was made on the other denominations (which
now also included 20p).
The
only
exception to this is for some of the 1983 2p peices. These were not put
into normal circulation, but were only issued in collectors' sets.
Sufficient
sets were produecd to satisfy normal collector demand (about 637,000
sets).
However, some of these sets (possibly only about 450) included coins
which
had the "new pence" inscription in error - all the others said "two
pence".
A 1983
2p coin inscribed "two pence" is of a little value, but not a great
deal.
A 1983
2p coin inscribed "new pence" is rare, and one appearing in auction
might
fetch in the region of £100 or £200.
Just
as a matter of interest, over 1.4 billion twopences were issued in
1971,
and in total 3.1 billion 2p coins were issued inscribed "2 NEW PENCE".
It is clear that they are not scarce.
Any
stories suggesting that they are anything but common have been passed
on
by people who have heard the story and then been willing to pass it on
without checking the facts. The incorrect details have appeared on UK
television,
and in newspapers, even having been repeated by "experts".
Robert
Murray Stamp Shop, Edinburgh
Page
written Saturday 6 December 2003. Updated Tuesday 7 December 2004.
Copyright Robert Murray.