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Have you heard? There's a new edge error £2 coin! There's only 40! And it was only minted yesterday!
Last night news was all over Discord reporting that some George Orwell Two Pound coins, struck at the Royal Mint Experience on Monday 20 January, had been minted with the incorrect edge inscription.
True errors on modern UK coins remain rare, and newly discovered error coins often hit the headlines, alerting collectors to check their change.
What is the new George Orwell £2 error?
What Are Strike Your Own Coins?
Striking your own coin is a highlight of any visit to the Royal Mint Experience.
Those who book tickets to The Royal Mint's visitor centre in Llantrisant, South Wales, have the opportunity to mint their own coin as part of their tour for as little as £7.50.
The design on these 'Strike Your Own' coins changes regularly and includes newly released designs. Fifty Pence coins are the most common but Two Pound and One Pound Strike Your Owns have also been offered.
Strike Your Own coins are limited edition by nature and since not everyone can pop down to The Royal Mint every few weeks there is a healthy secondary market for pre-owned Strike Your Owns.
Browse our current stock: Strike Your Own Coins
George Orwell Edge Error Strike Your Own
On Monday 20 January, The Royal Mint began offering a new Strike Your Own £2, featuring the brand-new George Orwell design.
The 2025 George Orwell Two Pound features a design by Henry Gray, inspired by Orwell's dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the words ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU' around a motif that could be an eye or a security camera. This coin is available in brilliant uncirculated, silver proof and piedfort proof.
The edge of George Orwell coins should read ‘THERE WAS TRUTH AND THERE WAS UNTRUTH'.
A small number of Strike Your Own coins, struck by Royal Mint Experience visitors early on Monday morning, appear to have a different edge, taken from the previous Strike Your Own choice, the definitive £2.
Error Orwell Strike Your Own coins have an edge that reads 'IN SERVITIO OMNIUM'.
This is the result of leftover, pre-struck blanks with the edge already engraved, being used with the new Orwell design.
The error appears to have been swiftly corrected but is reported to affect around 40 coins.
The Royal Mint has reportedly offered recipients of the error a replacement with the correct edge. Understandably, savvy owners have chosen to hold onto their rare Orwell coin, several of which are now listed on eBay.
Other Rare Edge Error UK Coins
True edge error coins are rare and attract interest from serious collectors when they come to market.
Known edge errors affect several UK £2 coins, including:
- 2016 Shakespeare's Tragedies £2s with the edge from the 2016 British Army £2 ('FOR KING AND COUNTRY')
- 2016 British Army £2 with the edge from the 2016 Great Fire Of London £2 ('THE WHOLE CITY IN DREADFUL FLAMES')
Quite why this issue was so prevalent in 2016 is unclear.
Read more: Collectors Hunt Error Edge Coins As Two Pound Sells For £123
Weak strikes where some letters are indistinguishable are often listed on eBay as rare edge errors. If these do sell, they generally make a little over face value, rather than the thousands of Pounds asked for by some sellers.
Supposed 'upside down' edges may also be touted as errors but, in reality, there is no 'right way up' for an edge inscription on a UK coin, due to the way they are minted.
To our knowledge, there are no other known edge errors on Strike Your Own coins, though packaging issues have been reported. This includes a misprint in the 2022 Commonwealth Games 50p Strike Your Own, which was corrected with a sticker before being reprinted.
Certain Strike Your Own coins have become particularly sought-after, including pieces from the Harry Potter 50p series, the 2018-dated Isaac Newton Strike Your Own 50p, and one-day-only Struck On The Day issues like the 6 May 2023 King Charles III Coronation Strike Your Own.
Share Your Strike Your Own
Did you get a Strike Your Own George Orwell £2 with an error edge at the Royal Mint Experience yesterday? We want to know how many of these coins are out there. Share photos by email or tag @britanniacoinco on social media if you have one.
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