2 Pounds - Elizabeth II Brimstone Butterfly

Guernsey's 1998 wildlife series was part of a broader late-1990s trend among Crown Dependencies issuing thematic collector pieces through the Royal Mint and private minting contractors — coins intended primarily for the gift and souvenir trade rather than circulation. The brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) is indeed native to the Channel Islands, which sits at the southern edge of its northern European range.

KM#81 sees minimal appearance in circulated grades for an obvious reason: it never really circulated.