1812 Charles Dickens 1870 Two Pound Coin

Charles Dickens, Two Pounds, and a Coin-troversy

Alright, gather 'round, folks. I've got a tale to tell you about a certain Mr. Charles Dickens, a couple of quid, and a coin that's caused more of a stir than a Victorian street urchin with a pie thief's conscience.

Meet Charles, the Coin's Namesake

Now, you might know Charles Dickens as that bloke who wrote all those books your grandma loved. You know, the ones with titles like "Oliver Twist" and "A Tale of Two Cities". He was born in 1812, a time when the only coins you'd find in his pocket were the ones he'd earned by a lifetime of hard work and literary genius.

Fast forward a century and a bit, and it's 1870. The UK's just had a royal coinage act, and they're all like, "Let's make some new coins! And let's make them big!"

The Birth of a Coin

So, they created the two-pound coin. Now, this wasn't your average coin. It was massive, like the size of a small Victorian dinner plate. It was also made of silver, which was a big deal back then. It was like they took a silver teaspoon, melted it down, and said, "Let's make a coin out of this!"

But here's where things get interesting. They decided to put Charles Dickens' face on it. I mean, why not? He was the literary equivalent of a rockstar back then. But here's the thing - he was still alive!

Coin-troversy Strikes

Imagine this: you're Charles Dickens, you're walking down the street, and you see your face on a coin. Not just any coin, but a two-pound coin. That's like finding your face on a $20 bill today! You'd be like, "Well, that's a bit weird, but I'll take it."

Very Rare Charles Dickens 1812-1870 2 Pound coin with minting error

But no, Charles wasn't having it. He was all, "Over my dead body will my face be on a coin!" And then, in a twist of fate that's so Dickensian it's almost laughable, he died a few years later. I mean, talk about a plot twist, right?

The Coin Lives On

So, the coin was never made. But the story didn't end there. In 1992, the Royal Mint decided to give it another go. They made a two-pound coin with Charles Dickens' face on it. But this time, he was dead, so he couldn't complain. Well, not verbally, anyway. Who knows what his ghost thought?

And that, my friends, is the tale of how Charles Dickens ended up on a two-pound coin. It's a story that's worth its weight in silver, wouldn't you say?