Isle of Man 2 pence 1989 AA - Celtic Cross

The coin's story

The Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, is a British Crown Dependency: it is not part of the United Kingdom and strikes its own money, the Manx pound. Its coins are made by the Pobjoy Mint, a private mint in Surrey, whose initials PM appear on the obverse. In 1988 the island replaced the previous series, with the peregrine falcon on the 2 pence, by a new series whose reverses are set within a Celtic cross, with the name of the island in Manx, Ellan Vannin. The Celtic cross recalls the many carved stone crosses left on the island by its first Christian inhabitants and by the Vikings. The obverse bears the third portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, by Raphael Maklouf, signed RDM. This type was struck from 1988 to 1995, a small two-letter mark, from AA to AE, distinguishes the different dies used, and 1989 is the last year of the old style of date numerals, replaced in 1990.