Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Pounds 2008, KM# 1106, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Olympic Handover from Beijing 2008 to London 2012
  • 2 Pounds 2008, KM# 1106, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Olympic Handover from Beijing 2008 to London 2012
Description

The London 2012 Handover Ceremony was performed at the Beijing Olympics 2008 and formed part of the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The sequence featured dancers from the Royal Ballet, CandoCo and Zoo Nation with performances by Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page and an appearance by David Beckham.

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

A flag showing the five Olympic rings being passed from a hand on the left to a hand on the right. The surrounding inscription reads "BEIJING 2008" left of image and "LONDON 2012" to right. The London 2012 olympic logo is at the bottom of the coin overlapping both metals.

The London 2012 Summer Olympics logo is four abstract shapes placed in a quadrant formation spelling out "2012". The word "London" is written in the shape representing the "2", while the Olympic rings are placed in the shape representing the "0".

Engraver: The Royal Mint Engraving Team

BEIJING 2008 LONDON 2012
london

Edge

In contrast to the opening ceremonies, many elements of the Olympic closing ceremonies gradually developed more by tradition than official mandate. The president of the Organizing Committee makes a speech before closing the Olympics by saying: And now, I declare the Games of the [ordinal number of Summer Olympics] Olympiad closed. In accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in [name of next host city] to celebrate the Games of the [subsequent ordinal number of Summer Olympics] Olympiad.

I CALL UPON THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD

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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