Jane Austen £2 coin

The request was refused by Royal Mint.

Dear Royal Mint,

Please could you advise how many Jane Austen £2 coins (2017) there are. I have checked the published figures but the coin in question does not seem to be listed.

Please could you also advise how many 50ps were issued last year. Please could you divide this information by each design of the 50p.

Yours faithfully,

Jenny

FOI, Royal Mint

Thank you for your email of 15 January which we are dealing with as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”). Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Act and will be answered within twenty working days.

FOI Team

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FOI, Royal Mint

Dear Jenny

With regard to the Jane Austen £2 coin there was insufficient demand for these to enter general circulation. However a limited number went into circulation via promotional activities to support the anniversary. There were 1,860 Jane Austen £2 coins released for this purpose.

Mintage figures for 2018 UK coins will be published around the time of issuance of The Royal Mint's Annual Report 2018/19, following the end of the current financial year (to 31 March 2019). We are therefore not obliged to provide any information in advance of that, pursuant to section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act.

FOI Team

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Dear FOI team,

Thank you for such a prompt response.

I'm really interested in the information you have provided- I didn't realise that coins could be designed and created but then not enter general circulation. Under s16 of the FOI Act I'd be really grateful if you could please provide (or sign post me to) further information about this, even if just a brief explanatory paragraph explaining a little bit more. If easier, I am happy for this second request to be dealt with as a general enquiry / business as usual.

Many thanks,

Jenny

FOI, Royal Mint

Hi Jenny

Here's a link to an infographic on the Royal Mint website as to when a coin enters into circulation: https://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-co...

The quantities of coins that The Royal Mint is asked to produce each year varies according to UK demand for specific denominations at the time. UK coins have an impressive lifespan so they don’t need replacing as often as other forms of currency. This, together with the ongoing decline in the number of cash transactions in the UK each year, means that the UK Banks and Post Office may not request every denomination every year if there is already sufficient coin in circulation.

Regards

FOI Team

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