Commemorative coins have been issued by the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom since 1935. Initially they only came out to mark events of great interest, but since the turn of the millennium have been minted yearly.
Until decimalisation crowns (five shilling coins) were used for this purpose as they were the highest denomination of the time, but due to inflation this role has been transferred to higher value coins.
Crowns, £5 coins and (until 1996) £2 coins are non-circulating, although they are still legal tender. These denominations are only used for commemoratives. During the decimal era, crowns were converted to twenty-five pence.
50p and £2 coins made after 1996 circulate normally and can be found in change. Usually about 5 million of each of these are the commemorative issue, the rest being of the standard design.
Since 1982 all of these have also been produced as sterling silver and 22 carat gold proofs.
Although the design of the old round £1 coin changed every year, these are not considered to be commemoratives, as they do not mark an event or its anniversary.
Crowns
1935: Silver Jubilee of George V 1937: Coronation of George VI 1951: Festival of Britain 1953: Coronation of The Queen 1960: British Trade Fair in New York City 1965: Death of Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister
Twenty-five pence
1972: Silver Wedding of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh 1977: Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II 1980: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 80th Birthday. 1981: Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer
Five pounds
1990: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 90th Birthday 1993: 40th Anniversary of Coronation of The Queen 1996: The Queen's 70th Birthday 1997: Golden Wedding of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh 1998: The Prince of Wales' 50th Birthday 1999: Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial 1999/2000: Millennium 2000: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 100th Birthday 2001: Queen Victoria Centenary of death 2002: Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II 2002: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Memorial 2003: 50th Anniversary of Coronation of The Queen 2004: Entente Cordiale Centenary (Peace treaty between Britain and France) 2005: Bicentenary of Battle of Trafalgar and Admiral Lord Nelson (2 coins) 2006: 80th Birthday of The Queen 2007: Diamond Wedding of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh 2008: 60th Birthday of The Prince of Wales. 2008: 450th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth I. 2009: The 500th anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII. 2009: Three years until the 2012 London Olympics, swimming 2010: 350th anniversary of the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II 2010: Two years until the 2012 London Olympic Games, athletics 2011: The 90th birthday of The Duke of Edinburgh 2011: Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton 2011: One Year until the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games, cycling 2012: Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II 2012: London 2012 Olympics 2012: London 2012 Paralympics 2013: 60th Anniversary of the Queen's Coronation 2013: The Royal Christening of HRH Prince George of Cambridge 2014: The 300th Anniversary of the Death of Queen Anne 2015: The 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill 2015: The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo 2015: The Royal Birth of HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge 2015: Longest reigning monarch - Queen Elizabeth II 2016: 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II 2017: Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II 2017: Remembrance Day 2017: Platinum Wedding (70 years) of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh 2017: Prince Philip 70 years of service 2017: Centenary of the House of Windsor 2017: 1000th anniversary of the coronation of King Canute 2017: The Queen's Beasts series - Lion of England (Re-released with 2018 date to celebrate England's success in the World Cup) 2017: The Queen's Beasts series - Unicorn of Scotland 2017: Christmas 2018: Sapphire anniversary of the Queen's coronation 2018: Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 2018: 250th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Academy of Arts 2018: Four generations of the Royal Family 2018: The Queen's Beasts series - Red Dragon of Wales 2018: The Queen's Beasts series - Black Bull of Clarence 2018: 5th birthday of Prince George of Cambridge 2020: 200th anniversary of the death of King George III 2021: Death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 2022: Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II 2022: Death of Elizabeth II 2022: 100th anniversary of the Discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb 2023: 75th birthday of King Charles III 2024: Buckingham Palace
Fifty pence
Circulating 1973: UK's entry into the European Economic Community 1992: UK's Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers and the completion of the European single market 1994: 50th anniversary of D-Day 1998: 25th anniversary of the UK's membership in the European Union 1998: 50th anniversary of the NHS 2000: 150th anniversary of the Public Libraries Act 1850 2003: 100th anniversary of the Women's Social and Political Union (the Suffragettes) 2004: 50th anniversary of the first four-minute mile by Roger Bannister 2005: 250th anniversary of the publication of Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language 2006: 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross (2 coins) 2007: 100th anniversary of the Scout Movement 2009: 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew 2010: 100th anniversary of Girlguiding UK 2011: 50th anniversary of the World Wildlife Fund 2011: 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London (a set of 29 coins of different sports) 2013: 100th anniversary of the birth of Christopher Ironside 2013: 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten 2014: XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2015: 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain 2016: 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings 2016: 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter (1st series) - Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Squirrel Nutkin 2016: Team GB at the Rio Olympics 2017: Beatrix Potter (2nd series) - Benjamin Bunny, Mr. Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten, The Tale of Peter Rabbit 2017: Sir Isaac Newton 2018: Beatrix Potter (3rd series) - Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny, Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tailor of Gloucester 2018: 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 2018: 60th anniversary of Paddington Bear (1st series) - at Paddington Station and at Buckingham Palace 2019: Sherlock Holmes 2019: Paddington Bear (2nd series) - at the Tower of London and at St Paul's Cathedral 2020: Britain's withdrawal from the European Union 2020: Celebrating British Diversity 2022: Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II 2022: 50th anniversary of Pride UK 2022: Death of Elizabeth II 2023: Coronation of Charles III
Non-circulating 2018: 40th anniversary of The Snowman (1st coin) 2019: Fifty Years of the Fifty Pence - British Culture set 2019: Fifty Years of the Fifty Pence - British Military Set 2019: 20th anniversary of The Gruffalo (2 coins) - The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo & Mouse 2019: Innovation in Science set (1st coin) - Stephen Hawking 2019: Beatrix Potter (4th series) - Peter Rabbit 2019: 30th anniversary of A Grand Day Out (Wallace and Gromit) 2019: The Snowman (2nd coin) 2020: The Dinosauria Collection (Tales of the Earth) - Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, Hylaeosaurus 2020: Beatrix Potter (5th series) - Peter Rabbit 2020: Innovation in Science set (2nd coin) - 100th anniversary of the birth of Rosalind Franklin 2020: Winnie The Pooh & Friends (1st series) - Winnie-the-Pooh, Christopher Robin, Piglet 2020: The Snowman (3rd coin) 2020-2021: Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics 2021: 50th anniversary of Decimal Day 2021: Innovation in Science set (3rd coin) - 75th anniversary of the death of John Logie Baird 2021: The Dinosauria Collection (The Mary Anning collection) - Temnodontosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Dimorphodon 2021: Winnie The Pooh & Friends (2nd series) - Winnie-the-Pooh, Owl, Tigger 2021: Innovation in Science set (4th coin) - 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Babbage 2021: Innovation in Science set (5th coin) - 100th anniversary of the discovery of Insulin 2021: The Snowman (4th coin) 2022: Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II (alternate obverse) 2022: 2022 Commonwealth Games (5 coins - 4 colourised, one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) 2022: 50th anniversary of Pride UK (colourised reverse) 2022: Innovation in Science set (6th coin) - Alan Turing 2022: Winnie The Pooh & Friends (3rd series) - Eeyore, Kanga & Roo 2022: 100th anniversary of the BBC 2022: 10th anniversary of The Snowman and the Snowdog (5th coin) 2022 - 2023: 25th anniversary of Harry Potter (4 coins - 2022: Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express; 2023: Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts) 2023: 75th anniversary of the Windrush Generation 2023: 75th anniversary of the NHS 2023 : Narnia 2023: 40th anniversary of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi 2024: Star Wars iconic vehicles
Two pounds
Single metal Non-circulating 1986: XIII Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh 1989: 300th anniversary of the Bill of Rights 1689 1989: 300th anniversary of the Claim of Right Act 1689 1994: 300th anniversary of Bank of England 1995: 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War 1995: 50th anniversary of the United Nations 1996: UEFA Euro in England
Bimetallic Circulating 1999: Rugby World Cup in Wales 2001: 100th anniversary of the first successful trans-Atlantic wireless transmission 2002: XVII Commonwealth Games in Manchester (4 coins) - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 2003: 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA 2004: 200th anniversary of the first steam locomotive 2005: 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot 2005: 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War 2006: 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (2 coins) - Clifton Suspension Bridge and Paddington Station 2007: 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade 2007: 300th anniversary of the Acts of Union 1707 2008: 100th anniversary of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London 2008: The Beijing Olympics handover to London 2009: 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin 2009: 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns 2010: 100th anniversary of the death of Florence Nightingale 2011: 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. 2011: 500th anniversary of the Mary Rose 2012: 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens 2012: The London Olympics handover to Rio 2013: The 150th anniversary of the London Underground (2 coins) - Roundel and Train 2013: The 350th anniversary of the first minting of the Golden guinea 2014: 100th anniversary of the Outbreak of the First World War 2014: 500th anniversary of Trinity House 2015: 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta 2015: The Royal Navy 2016: 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (3 coins) - Comedy, History, Tragedy 2016: The Army 2016: 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London
Non-circulating 2017: First World War Aviation 2017: 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen 2018: 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus 2018: 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's Voyage of Discovery (1st coin) 2018: 100th anniversary of the World War One Armistice 2018: 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force (5 coins) - Badge, Vulcan, Spitfire, Sea King, Lightning II 2019: 75th anniversary of D-Day 2019: 260th anniversary of Wedgwood 2019: 250th anniversary of Samuel Pepys' final diary entry 2019: 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's Voyage of Discovery (2nd coin) 2020: 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day 2020: 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage 2020: 100th anniversary of Agatha Christie's first book