The Guernsey cattle on the 1999 2 pence mark the first year of a new version of the coin: from this year it was struck on copper-plated steel blanks with Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of the Queen.

Robert Elderton’s cows replaced the Sark windmill on the 2 pence back in 1985; above them are «TWO PENCE» and the numeral «2». The breed is the island’s great agricultural pride: red-and-white or fawn animals giving milk with a golden tint from beta-carotene, and in the early 20th century Guernsey cattle were exported to the United States in large numbers. The obverse shows Elizabeth II with «ELIZABETH II BAILIWICK OF GUERNSEY IRB».

The coin was struck by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant. The steel-based type ran from 1999 to 2012, and the Guernsey 2 pence is identical in size and weight to the British coin.

Graded AU-UNC: wear is barely visible on the high points and the mint lustre is almost fully intact. As the first year of the type, it is the natural start of a date run of the fourth-portrait cattle 2 pence.

Other coins from the VPcoins catalogue will help you continue a series or start a new collection.