After being alerted that a new ‘FA Cup’ coin was in the pipeline…. and was being designed by Matt Dent/ Christian Davies, I must admit I shuddered. This is because I remember the utter disappointment and disbelief I experienced after seeing the dynamic duos efforts with the ‘007 £5 Coins’. I mean they were flat, uninteresting and proper bland. I also know they could have been far, far nicer if Miss Moneypenny had handed this assignment to a different pair of agents.
However, as luck would have it the new ‘FA Cup’ coin is actually rather good. It is simple, effective and uncluttered – something that (fortunately) happens to fit the artistic style of these designers very well. I do not think this is down to mastery of a craft in all fairness; more to do with it working out nicely with the subject matter in question. I mean, an overly blingy 3D representation of the cup really doesn’t sound very appealing at all. So these two coin designers were very well suited to the task at hand.
Sometimes sheer fluke can be a very beautiful thing indeed.
Specifications :
£2 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin –
Alloy – Inner: Cupro-nickel Outer: Nickel-brass
Diameter – 28.40mm
Weight – 12.00g
Mintage – Unlimited*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent/ Christian Davies
£2 Silver Proof Coin –
Alloy – Inner: 925 Ag Outer: 925 Ag plated with fine gold
Diameter – 28.40mm
Weight – 12.00g
Mintage – 4,860*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent/ Christian Davies
£2 Silver Proof Piedfort Coin –
Alloy – Inner: 925 Ag Outer: 925 Ag plated with fine gold
Diameter – 28.40mm
Weight – 24.00g
Mintage – 1,160*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent/ Christian Davies
£2 Gold Proof Coin –
Alloy – Inner: 916.7 Au Yellow Gold Outer: 916.7 Au Red Gold
Diameter – 28.40mm
Weight – 15.98g
Mintage – 360*
Obverse Designer – Jody Clark
Reverse Designer – Matt Dent/ Christian Davies
*All mintages quoted are MCM (Maximum Coin Mintage). This means this is the most coins that may be issued. Ultimately, it is down to The Royal Mint to decide how many are minted so the reality is that each number given may turn out to be lower.
© Article and images (except where stated) copyright Mik Smith 2022
