The innovative 1997 UK £2 coin sets three new milestones in British numismatic. Not only is it the first ever base metal £2 coin to be issued for general circulation, but it is also the first legal tender coin to be made of two separate components of differing alloys, and the first British coin to incorporate a latent feature as a security device.
Representing the Iron Age, the inner disc carries the latent feature as the coin is tilted, the image changers from four separate Celtic-style whorls to eight inter-twined whorls. The first ring is symbolic of the Industrial Revolution, the final cupro-nickel ring is adorned with a pattern from a silicon chip, while the outer ring made of nickel-brass represents the age of the internet and the information superhighway.