Does anyone know what a double sided two pence is worth,having two heads and two different dates,1971 and 1978?

Between 1971 and 1978, a total of 2,080,719,251 two pence pieces were put into circulation. 1,454,856,250 of these are dated 1971, as this was the year Britain's currency was decimalized and many of them are still in circulation today. Consequently, apart from those dated 1972 to 1974, which were produced for sets only, they are worth their face value only. This particular coin, however, appears to be a fake, and is therefore basically worthless.

• Two Faced Coins

If the coin was the product of a minting error, which would make it rare and therefore probably worth a lot to collectors, the date would have to be the same on both sides. It is this difference in the dates which shows that the coin has got to be a fake.

Even if the coin had been melted down for re-use, which is unlikely, it would not be physically possible for it to have both dates on it at the same time, as melting would obviously have removed the original face and date before the coin was re-minted.

This applies to any two faced coins with different dates. There is simply no way for the dates on any coin being that far apart. Even if a coin had been left unnoticed somewhere in a machine, again an unlikely event, the best it would have on it would be two consecutive dates, such as 1971/72, or 1977/78 maybe.

• Weight, Size and Composition

We are not coin experts, so if you are in doubt that the above information is correct, it is worth checking the coin's weight, size and composition. If it does weigh 7.12 g, have a diameter of 25.9 mm and is made entirely of bronze, it may be worth taking it to a specialist.