1994 Tercentenary of the Bank of England Two Pound Coin To celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Bank of England, commemorative two pound coins were issued in 1994. It is appropriate that the tercentenary of the Bank of England should be celebrated on the coinage, linking two great institutions both intimately connected with the nation's currency. The obverse of the new commemorative coin bears Raphael Maklouf's acclaimed portrait of the Queen while the new reverse design, created by Leslie Durbin, reflects the period in which the Bank was founded, bearing the Bank's original corporate seal, the crown and cypher of William and Mary and the words Bank of England in familiar script. The motto of William Paterson, "sic vos non vobis", "thus we labour but not for ourselves", forms the edge inscription