Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Pounds 2013, KM# 1240, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 150th Anniversary of London Underground, Roundel
  • 2 Pounds 2013, KM# 1240, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 150th Anniversary of London Underground, Roundel
  • 2 Pounds 2013, KM# 1240, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, 150th Anniversary of London Underground, Roundel, Edge
Description

The world’s first underground railway opened in London on the 10th January 1863. Nearly 150 years later, the Royal Mint in Britain marks the milestone with two £2 coins, each bearing designs inspired by iconic images of the London Underground.

The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground, or by its nickname the Tube) was the first service to utilize electric trains in 1890 which formed part of the Northern line. During the second World War, the platforms of the many centrally located stations served as bomb shelters to literally tens of thousands of Londoners – later emerging to survey the damage done the night earlier. The Underground introduced a “smart card” form of payment in 2003 and the entire system is now ticket-less. The London Underground now serves more than 3.5 million travelers daily and consists of 270 stations.

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
·TWO POUNDS·
IRB

Reverse

The design, created by British designer Edwina Ellis, whose graphic work includes the design of the Bridge series of four UK £1 coins, bears the London Underground “roundel” logo.

While the first use of a roundel in a London transport context was the trademark of the London General Omnibus Company registered in 1905, it was first used on the Underground in 1908 when the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) placed a solid red circle behind station nameboards on platforms to highlight the name. The word "UNDERGROUND" was placed in a roundel instead of a station name on posters in 1912 by Charles Sharland and Alfred France, as well as on undated and possibly earlier posters from the same period. Frank Pick thought the solid red disc cumbersome and took a version where the disc became a ring from a 1915 Sharland poster and gave it to Edward Johnston to develop, and registered the symbol as a trademark in 1917. The roundel was first printed on a map cover using the Johnston typeface in June 1919, and printed in colour the following October.

1863
UNDERGROUND
2013

Edge

The edge inscription ‘MIND THE GAP’, a well-loved cautionary phrase that for many years has been synonymous with London tube travel for visitors to the capital.

MIND THE GAP ·

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

Related coins

4th portrait, Train

150th Anniversary of London Underground

Bi-Metallic, 12 g, ⌀ 28.4 mm