2001 Two Pound Coin - Marconi

On 12 December 1901 the Italian Physicist Guglielmo Marconi became the first person to send a radio transmission across the Atlantic.

The single Morse letter ‘S’ (just 3 dots) was sent from Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, Canada. Many thought that it would be impossible as the curvature of the Earth would send the radio waves up into space, but Marconi proved them otherwise and changed the future of the World.

Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909. To commemorate the centenary of Marconi’s transmission, the Royal Mint produced a £2 coin marking the event.

The £2 (Marconi) coin reverse is a series of radio waves emanating from a spark of electricity set in between the zeroes of ‘2001’. Outside these is the image of the radio waves following the curvature of the Earth, just as Marconi predicted. This was designed by Robert Evans.

The £2 coin also has an edge  inscription: 'WIRELESS BRIDGES THE ATLANTIC MARCONI 1901'.

The obverse shows Queen Elizabeth II.