1994 Gold 2 Pound Coin – Bank of England 300th Anniversary & Mule


The 1994 Gold 2 Pound Coin - Bank of England 300th Anniversary

The 1994 gold proof two pounds piece was issued by the Royal Mint to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Bank of England.

Designed by Leslie Durbin, the reverse shows the Bank's original Corporate Seal, with Crown and Cyphers of King William III and Queen Mary II.

Queen Elizabeth II's third portrait can be seen on the obverse of the coin, designed by Raphael Maklouf. However, the 'Mule' variety features a slightly different obverse design compared to the rest of the issue.

The Royal Mint unintentionally struck a number of pieces using the die for double sovereigns. The main difference between the two dies being the double sovereign die does not include the denomination 'Two Pounds' (You can see on the picture of the obverse the words 'Two Pounds' are not present).

In 1994, the Royal Mint wrote to retail customers explaining the error, inviting them to return any error coins for replacement with an example featuring the correct design. It is not known how many people did this, or how many error examples were produced.



The overall mintage for the 1994 gold proof two pounds is 1,000. Mintage estimates for the Mule variety alone vary from 50 pieces to 300 pieces. Either way, the error example is very rare!

The two pounds piece is made of solid 22 carat gold (Gold Fineness of 0.916), and weighs 15.98 grams. It has a diameter of 28.40mm.

The coin would have been housed in its original Royal Mint acrylic screw top capsule, presented in its Royal Mint green leatherette case, accompanied with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity.


Mintage: 1,000 (may include coins in sets)
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Remember 1994 ?
Monarch is Queen Elizabeth II. Prime Minister is John Major. Labour Leader John Smith sadly dies of a heart attack and Tony Blair becomes leader. US invade Haiti to restore order. Tunnel between English and France opens. The North American Free Trade Agreement established.
Elizabeth II (1952-2022)
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning British Monarch ever, reigning for over 70 years. Born on 21 April 1926 to King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, she became Queen in 1952 and her Coronation was on 2 June 1953. She died on 8 September 2022. Some coins were released dated 2023.

Queen Elizabeth II issued many coins and was monarch during decimalisation. She married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 and had four children. Her eldest son succeeded the throne as King Charles III. House of Windsor.
The first gold two pound (£2) coins appeared in 1820 for George III but they were only made occasionally (intended for circulation) until 1980 when the Royal Mint started minting them yearly. There are both proof and uncirculated types in previous years but the modern trend seems to be a proof as part of a set. 

Gold £2 Coins are also know as Double Sovereigns, but as with gold five pound coins there are two variations. One is the double sovereign itself - it looks like a larger version of the sovereign of the same year and is likely to have George and the Dragon on the back. The other type is a commemorative style which tends to copy the circulation two pound design. To avoid categorisation some dealers refer to both types collectively as two pound pieces.

For size comparison, the image on the right shows a modern sovereign set containing the half-sovereign, sovereign, double sovereign and £5 coin.

The specification for two pound coins

Weight is 15.98g, which is twice the weight of a standard gold sovereign. The diameter is 28.4mm and about 2mm thick. It is made from 22 Carat gold (0.916 or 91.6% gold).
Which Mint: The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.
If you don't see a coin in the list below try the Gold 2 Pound Coins page on eBay UK
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1994 £2 Two Pound Proof Gold Coin (Double Sovereign)
1994 £2 Two Pound Proof Gold Coin (Double Sovereign)
£ 1,224.75
Rare 22ct Gold Proof 1994 Bank of England £2 Coin 14.98 grams (only 1000 Minted)
Rare 22ct Gold Proof 1994 Bank of England £2 Coin 14.98 grams (only 1000 Minted)
£ 2,395.00
~Simply Coins~ 1994 ~ 2020 CIRCULATED 2 TWO POUND COINS, FINNISH YOUR COLLECTION
~Simply Coins~ 1994 ~ 2020 CIRCULATED 2 TWO POUND COINS, FINNISH YOUR COLLECTION
£ 4.84
Great Britain 1994 Gold 1/2 oz 50 Pounds NGC PF68UC Britannia
Great Britain 1994 Gold 1/2 oz 50 Pounds NGC PF68UC Britannia
£ 1,029.09
EGYPT , GOLD 1/2 POUND SALAH EL DIN EL-AYUBI  1994 - NGC MS 65 , EXTREMELY RARE
EGYPT , GOLD 1/2 POUND SALAH EL DIN EL-AYUBI 1994 - NGC MS 65 , EXTREMELY RARE
£ 1,979.01

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