In 1998, the Royal Mint released a Limited Issue £2 Two Pound Silver Proof 2 Coin Set both struck in solid .925 Sterling Silver.
Both coins carry the intricate design created by Bruce Rushden for the reverse of the original coin.
Filling the whole field, it traces the development of technology from Iron Age to the Internet, beginning with the beautiful Celtic whirls at the heart of the inner disc and ending with the cyberspace network on the outer circle.
The first bi-colour £2 Two Pound Silver Proof Coin naturally bore the acclaimed portrait of the Queen by Raphael Maklouf which, by then, had graced the coinage for more than a decade.
It will be the only bi-colour £2 Two Pound Silver Proof Coin to carry the Maklouf head, for the new Royal portrait created by Ian Rank Broadley will grace the circulating coinage from 1998 onwards.
The delightful two-coin set therefore features one of each portraits pairing as it does the 1997 £2 Silver Proof Coin with its counterpart from 1998.
These legal tender coins have been struck to proof quality using specially prepared dies and highly polished blanks.