The NEW £2 Coin issued in commemoration of Alexander Graham Bell. But what did he invent?

By Samantha Greene | 28th July 2022 |

Who is Alexander Graham Bell?

Alexander Graham Bell is best known as the inventor of the telephone, as on 10^th March 1876, he completely revolutionised the world of communication when achieved the world’s first successful telephone transmission.

How did Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone work?

The telephone had two parts: the transmitter and the receiver. Basically, when Bell spoke into the transmitter, his voice caused vibrations to some paper and a needle (part of the transmitter). These transmissions were then converted into an electrical current, which travelled along a wire to the receiver. It’s obviously a bit more complex, but you get the gist.

Actor portraying Alexander Graham Bell in an AT&T promotional film (1926)
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Is Alexander Graham Bell Canadian?

Despite the amount of Google searches, the answer is no, he is not Canadian, but later in life he did live there. Bell was born in Scotland in 1847 to parents Alexander Melville Bell and Eliza Grace Symonds. Eliza was almost deaf, and Bell taught elocution to the deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH). This influenced Alexander’s career choice later in life as he became a teacher for the deaf and HoH, firstly teaching at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes, then at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts, and then the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.

Alexander Graham Bell with his wife Mabel Gardiner Hubbard and their children Elsie May Bell (far left) and Marian Hubbard Bell.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

He met Mabel Hubbard, his wife, whilst teaching at the Boston University School of Oratory and they married in 1877, going on to have four children. Mabel had become deaf at the age of five, and her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, was a founder of the Clarke School.

Why Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone?

Telegraph innovation at the time was heavily focused on achieving a method that could transmit several telegraph messages at the same time over a single wire. Gardiner Hubbard was a dominant figure in this industry and backed Bells’ interest in the subject. But Bell was transfixed on transmitting the human voice, rather than harmonic sounds, so he and Hubbard came to an agreement which benefited both parties – Bell would devote most of his time to the harmonic telegraph but would continue developing his telephone concept.

Bell on the telephone in New York (calling Chicago) in 1892.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

This agreement would indeed prove to be an important one as working on harmonic telegraphs transmitting musical tones was a short step away from transmitting human voices. On March 7^th, 1876, Bell was awarded the Telephone Patent – he had achieved the WORLD’S FIRST successful telephone transmission.

His innovation of the telephone is arguably one of the most important breakthroughs in modern history as it changed the way in which we communicate forever.

The 2022 UK Alexander Graham Bell £2 Coin

And so, 100 years on from the inventor’s death, The Royal Mint are commemorating one of Britain’s greatest inventors with a £2 coin. This is the FIRST EVER UK coin devoted to Alexander Graham Bell and its design is extremely eye-catching if I do say so myself.

Alexander Graham Bell Brilliant Uncirculated £2 Coin

The talented artist Henry Gray has designed the reverse, it resembles the dials of a push-button phone. On some of the dials, the words ‘PIONEER OF THE TELEPHONE’ are cleverly inscribed, along with the years 1847 and 1922 – Bell’s years of birth and death.

Many consider him a true audio visionary and even now, he remains one of the most important inventors of his time.

Photo session before presentation of bust of Alexander Graham Bell at the annual meeting of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution on December 9, 1926.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

From the beginning, Bell showed the deepest passion for his creations. It wasn’t about the money they could make, which is proven by his actions in the 1880’s where he sold most of his stock holdings in the Bell Telephone Company, missing out on huge profits.

He instead turned his attention to electrical science and his efforts were awarded by the French Government with the Volta Prize. Bell used this prize money to set up his Volta Laboratory, an establishment focused on studying deafness and improving the lives of the deaf and HoH.

Alexander Graham Bell £2 Coin Specifications

The coin which celebrates this brilliant inventor is available from us in our Collector’s Capsule Edition, Royal Mint BU Pack and Silver Proof specification.

The Capsule Edition protectively encapsulates your Brilliant Uncirculated £2 coin which is hand-mounted in an exclusive collector card. It even comes with a FREE display stand and it’s ONLY £7.99!