Milestones in the decimal coinage of St. Helena-Ascension

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Obverse of the St Helena-Ascension circulation 2 pound coin of 2002.

Although the UK first issued a circulating bimetallic two pound coin in 1997.

St Helena-Ascension did not issue a two pound coin until 2002.

However, it was made of nickel-brass and was not bimetallic.


It weighed 11.8 g and had a diameter of 28.3 mm.

This coin had an edge inscription that read: "500TH ANNIVERSARY".

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The reverse of the circulation 2 pound coin of 2002 featured St. Helena's coat of arms.

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The obverse of the St Helena-Ascension bimetallic circulation 2 pound coin of 2003.

St Helena-Ascension's nickel-brass circulation 2 pound coin of 2003 had been a one-year issue only.


The UK had issued collector 2 pound coins in nickel-brass irregularly from 1986 to 1996.

However, the UK's circulation 2 pound coins have always been bimetallic.


In 2003 St Helena-Ascension issued its first bimetallic 2 pound circulation coin.

The coin had a copper-nickel center within a nickel brass ring.

It weighed 12 g and had a diameter of 28.4 mm and a thickness of 2.5 mm.

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The reverse of the St Helena-Ascension bimetallic circulation 2 pound coin of 2003.

The reverse design still showed St. Helena's coat of arms.

However, there was now some extra foliage around the edge of the design.

This coin was issued through to 2006.

Probably it will be minted in later years, when there is a need.

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In 1997, the UK had reduced the size and weight of its circulation 50 pence coin.

St Helena-Ascension did not issue its own 50p coin of matching specification until 2003.

Above you see an image of the old and new 50p coins of St Helena-Ascension side by side.

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In the UK, the older larger 5, 10 and 50 pence coins were relatively quickly withdrawn and were no longer legal tender.

However, in St. Helena and Ascension, the older larger coins were left in circulation, and they co-circulated alongside the newer coins.


According to Saint Helena Island Info:

"There are no slot machines or coin-counting machines on St Helena so the varying sizes do not cause any problems."

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I will update this topic if there are any developments. You can add any comments you wish in the topic below:

Comments on "Milestones in the decimal coinage of St.Helena-Ascension".

This topic is part of a series about the decimal coins of the sterling area. To see the other topics in the series, click on the link below:

The Decimal Coins of the Sterling Area.

See also:

1] Ascension, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha: Silver Jubilee designs

2] St. Helena and Ascension: unadopted circulation designs

3] Tristan da Cunha: Collector pieces.

See also:

1] Coins of Britain's uninhabited overseas territories

2] Index of topics about "Other Sterling Area Territories"

3] The Worldwide Usage of the Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II

4] Where to find the British Overseas Territories on this forum