2 Pounds - Elizabeth II Isambard K. Brunel, Gold Proof

Brunel appeared on a circulating £2 coin from 2006 as part of the Royal Mint's ongoing biographical series, with this gold proof struck as the collector version of that base-metal issue. The choice of Brunel was uncontroversial — he had topped a BBC public poll in 2002 ranking the greatest Britons, finishing second only to Churchill, which effectively handed the Royal Mint a ready-made justification for the commission.

The .9167 fineness is standard 22-carat crown gold, the same alloy the Royal Mint has used for sovereign-series coinage since 1817.