Obverse. Photo © Royal Mint
  • 2 Pounds 2015, KM# 1342, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta
  • 2 Pounds 2015, KM# 1342, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta
  • 2 Pounds 2015, KM# 1342, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta, Medieval-inspired packaging
Description

Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for "the Great Charter of the Liberties"), commonly called Magna Carta, is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.

King John fought and lost many battles in France during his reign. The English people were increasingly taxed in order to fund the battles, leading to much anger and resentment. Fed up with how people were being exploited, barons took over London, forcing King John to negotiate. The Magna Carta was drawn up to give the average person rights and take away power from the King. It meant that king John had to follow the laws of the land. No-one could be arrested or imprisoned, without being judged by their equals, and/or the law of the land.

The Magna brought an end to the unlimited power of the monarch and signalled a new era where freedom would no longer be out of the grasp of the common man. The Magna Carta has been reinterpreted through time, shaping the constitutions of great nations with some of the clauses still remaining part of British law to this day.

Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

ELIZABETH·II·D·G·REG·FID·DEF
IRB
·TWO POUNDS·2015·

Reverse

King John with a bishop and a baron. King John in the centre, clutching the Magna Carta and a quill, suggesting that he has, or is about to, sign the document. The King is flanked by two noblemen: a bishop and a baron.

John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216), also known as John Lackland, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. John lost the Duchy of Normandy to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of most of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document sometimes considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

A historians has questioned the accuracy of the design showing the signing of the Magna Carta, saying King John would have not have used a quill. The Magna Carta would have been 'endorsed' with a Royal seal, rather than with the stroke of a quill pen.

Engraver: John Bergdahl

MAGNA · CARTA
JB
· 1215 - 2015 ·

Edge

FOUNDATION OF LIBERTY

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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Nickel Brass
Center Cupronickel
Weight 12 g
Diameter 28.4 mm
Thickness 2.5 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Mint

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