2 oz Silver Coins

Who Buys 2 oz Silver Coins

The 2 oz silver coin is a modern format rather than a traditional bullion standard. At 62.207 grams, it sits between the universal 1 oz silver coin and the larger 5 oz and 10 oz collector sizes. The Royal Mint made the weight mainstream with the Queen's Beasts series, which ran from 2016 to 2021 and was the first 2 oz silver bullion coin issued by the UK. Its successor, the Tudor Beasts series, has kept the format in continuous production since 2023, and the Perth Mint strikes 2 oz coins across its Lunar, Kangaroo, and Koala ranges.

Buyers at this weight are usually motivated by design rather than cost. The 2 oz format gives engravers a larger canvas for detailed artwork, and the heraldic Queen's Beasts and Tudor Beasts designs are a draw in their own right. Premium savings over 1 oz coins are minimal, so this is not the weight to choose purely for cheap ounces; stackers optimising for cost per ounce do better with 10 oz silver bars.

The weight has a distinctly British and Australian character. Neither the US Mint nor the Royal Canadian Mint produces a standard 2 oz bullion coin, so the format is less common in North American markets. For UK buyers there is a practical bonus: Royal Mint 2 oz coins are UK legal tender and therefore exempt from Capital Gains Tax on disposal, the same treatment enjoyed by the 1 oz Britannia. The coins from the Royal Mint and Perth Mint at this weight are struck in .9999 fine silver, which comfortably clears the purity thresholds for sales tax exemptions in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

2 oz Silver Coin Premiums vs the Weight Scale

On a per-ounce basis, 2 oz coins from the Royal Mint and Perth Mint carry premiums broadly comparable to 1 oz sovereign coins, and sometimes slightly lower. That makes the format a sideways move rather than a saving: government-minted 1 oz silver coins typically run 15-25% over spot in normal market conditions, and doubling the coin size does not change the economics much. The 2 oz format does not offer the meaningful premium discount that comes with 10 oz bars or kilo bars, where minting costs are spread across far more metal.

The collectible element cuts both ways. Annual designs and limited mintage years in series like the Queen's Beasts can add resale value above melt, but that outcome is design-dependent and not something to count on at purchase.

Tax has a large effect on the all-in cost in some markets. In the UK, silver carries 20% VAT on purchase, and in EU countries the full local VAT rate applies to new silver coins, which pushes the effective cost well above the headline premium. The partial offset for UK buyers is the CGT exemption on Royal Mint legal tender coins: you pay more going in but nothing on gains coming out. In Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, .9999 fine coins qualify for GST/HST exemptions, so the quoted premium is closer to the true cost. Comparing prices across several dealers matters more at this weight than at 1 oz, because fewer products and lower trading volumes mean wider price variation between merchants.

Major 2 oz Silver Coins

The Royal Mint dominates this weight class. The Queen's Beasts series (2016-2021) ran to ten heraldic designs in .9999 fine silver, finishing with the Completer coin in 2021; the series is now available only on the secondary market, which adds a collector dimension to its pricing. The 2 oz Tudor Beasts series picked up the format in 2023 and remains in production, also at .9999 fineness. Both series are UK legal tender and CGT-exempt for UK residents.

The Perth Mint is the other major producer. Its 2 oz Lunar series coins carry annual zodiac designs, and the mint also strikes 2 oz Koala coins. Perth Mint silver at this weight is likewise .9999 fine.

Beyond the two flagship mints, dealers list a long tail of 2 oz issues, including the 2 oz Twin Maple Leaf, 2 oz Kookaburra, and 2 oz Libertad. Availability for these is thinner and more dealer-dependent than for the Royal Mint and Perth Mint ranges.

One notable absence at this weight: bars. Most refiners jump straight from 1 oz to 5 oz or 10 oz, so 2 oz bars exist only from some private mints and are uncommon. If you want 2 oz of silver in a single piece, a coin is in practice the only mainstream option, which is unusual; at most other weights the bar is the budget alternative.

Selling and Storing 2 oz Silver Coins

Liquidity is good for recognised mint products. Dealers actively buy Queen's Beasts, Tudor Beasts, and Perth Mint Lunar coins, and the limited-mintage years in these series can resell above melt value when a particular design is in demand. That premium recovery is design-dependent rather than guaranteed, but it is a realistic upside that generic silver does not offer. Any 2 oz rounds or bars from unrecognised producers sit at the other end of the spectrum, with limited resale appeal compared to the named series.

Packaging conventions differ from the 1 oz market. Where 1 oz silver coins ship in mint tubes of 20 or 25, the 2 oz format is not typically sold in tubes as a standard unit; individual capsules are the norm. A Queen's Beasts coin measures 38.61mm across, noticeably larger than a standard 1 oz silver coin, so capsule sizes and storage trays sized for 1 oz coins will not fit.

Standard silver storage practice applies. Silver tarnishes when exposed to sulphur compounds in the air, turning dark grey over time. Tarnish does not affect melt value, but it can reduce appeal for coins whose resale case rests partly on collector demand, which makes capsules and low-humidity storage more important for series coins like these than for bullion sold purely on weight. Keeping coins in original capsules with anti-tarnish strips in the storage container is cheap insurance for the design premium you paid for.