In 2007, to mark 300 years since the formation of the United Kingdom, the 1707 £2 coin was released into circulation. This coin represents the Tercentenary of the Act of Union between England and Scotland to form the United Kingdom with one Parliament, but how much is it worth today and is it rare?.
According to recent sold prices on eBay, it sells for £2.65 in circulated condition without postage and packaging. Keep in mind that this is simply an average, and the actual price you may pay will probably be different than this value.
Keep reading to find out what makes the 1707 £2 coin worth more than face value to collectors, as well as how rare it actually is!
1707 £2 Coin Mintage and Rarity
The 1707 £2 coin was one of two commemorative coins released that same year with a circulating mintage of 7,545,000, the other being the Slave Trade £2 Coin. The standard £2 coin with the ages of man reverse was also issued that year.
A mintage of 7,545,000 is considered to be quite high for a £2 coin and means that the 1707 £2 coin is not particularly rare. Some of the rarest £2 coins, including the Commonwealth Games Ireland and FWW Navy coins, have mintages under 1 million.
Alongside the circulating mintage, there were also other versions released for collectors which are summarised below:
- 7,545,000 released into circulation
- 8,863 Brilliant Uncirculated in a presentation folder
- 91,878 Brilliant Uncirculated in sets
- 38,215 proofs
- The 2007 United Kingdom Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Collection with 9 coins
- The United Kingdom 2007 Proof Coin Collection in a 12-coin set that also included a Deluxe and an Executive Proof set
- The United Kingdom Family Silver Collection 2007 with 6 coins included
Other Names For The 1707 £2 Coin
Although most commonly known as the 1707 £2 coin due to the inscription on the reverse design, the coin is technically called the Act of Union £2 coin due to the commemoration of the coin.
It has also been given the nickname of ‘Jigsaw’, ‘United into one Kingdom’ and ‘Puzzle’ £2 coin. It is rare to see a coin going by so many different names, but this is understandable given the design does not include any words.
The Design Of The 2007 Act of Union £2 Coin
The reverse of the special two pound commemorative round coin features a design that was to celebrate the Tercentenary of the Act of Union between England and Scotland.
It features a coin divided into four quarters of a puzzle piece. An English Tudor rose and a Scottish thistle was each placed in two sides of the quarters to appear as though they were growing from one single stem. A portcullis was displayed in each of the other two quarters. The portcullis represents Parliament.
The entire design is overlaid with a linking jigsaw motif and surrounded by the dates 1707 and 2007 as well as the denomination of TWO POUNDS. The design is the work of Yvonne Holton. Her initials are present toward the middle of the coin toward the inside bottom edge of the thistle puzzle piece.
Around the milled edge of the coin are the words UNITED INTO ONE KINGDOM.
The obverse of the coin features the Fourth Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II facing right that appeared on the two pound coin from 1998 to 2015. She is wearing the “Girls of Great Britain and Ireland” diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Her Majesty’s grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1947.
he initials IRB are present just beneath her portrait which stand for the artist Ian Rank-Broadley. Surrounding her head all around the outer circle is her legendary ELIZABETH II DEI GRA REG FID DEF which translates from Latin to mean Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith.
Act Of Union £2 Coin Minting Error
There is a very rare error in a few of the Act of Union £2 coins.
It appears that the words on the edge of some must have gotten mixed up with the coin blanks of the Abolition of Slave Trade coin released the same year. The error on the 2007 Act of Union coin edge reads AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER.
The coin should have instead read UNITED INTO ONE KINGDOM. The mistake most likely happened because the edge gets impressed before the reverse or obverse are struck. This is a very rare coin error with at least one example confirmed by the Royal Mint.
This is definitely an interesting point as a lot of eBay listings claim to show error coins to make a quick profit, but in this case, there is a genuine confirmed error. If you find an example then be sure to ask for proof of authenticity from the Royal Mint themselves.
Error versions have been shown to sell for hundreds of pounds on eBay, but whether the money actually changed hands is another story. All we know is a confirmed error is guaranteed to be worth more to the right buyer.
Commemoration of the Coin
While Scotland and England had been united under one Monarchy in 1603 when King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England, more than a century would pass before the two would be united under one Parliament.
Despite centuries of conflict and opposition, Scotland and England came together and unified through one parliament which formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The political union of Scotland and England was sealed in 1707 when one parliament was formed for both countries. The parliament would be based at Westminster.
The union was initially looked at as a hostile merger. Before this coming together, mistrust and a lot of suspicions had been present between England and Scotland that kept them from uniting.
The Scots feared that if they unite they would end up like Wales had and become another region of England. England feared that the Scots would take sides with France and join the “Auld Alliance”. Since England had relied heavily on Scottish soldiers, they could not lose any to join France.
2007 marked the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union between England and Scotland. On January 16, 1707, the Act of Union was signed. The Act became effective on May 1, 1707, when the Scottish and English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain based in the Palace of Westminster, London.
The events that led up to the initial union may have been hostile, but the two kingdoms have worked together very well ever since. In fact, when Scotland voted in 2014 on whether to leave the union and become independent once again, they voted to stay in the union.
Where Can You Buy The Coin?
One of the fastest and easiest places to find a coin to collect is on eBay. As with anything you buy online, just do a little research before you seal the deal. Make sure what you are buying is exactly what you were wanting.
As mentioned before, the coin will sell for £2.65 on average without postage and packaging. Just be careful with postage prices as well as error versions – just because there is a confirmed error does not mean that the seller will send you one.
