2 Pence - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait

The Falklands coinage program launched in 1974 represented the islands' first dedicated decimal series, introduced following the United Kingdom's own decimalization in 1971. Produced at the Royal Mint, these pieces circulated through a community of under 2,000 people — a population that would be briefly but violently disrupted when Argentine forces occupied the islands in April 1982. Coins in circulation during the 74-day occupation hold an odd footnote status: mundane bronze pieces that passed through a war.