Gibraltar 1997 £2 Cannon

Hello follow numasmatists. I have a a frustrating question in need of answering in regard to the coin mentioned above.
7% of members are currently listed as owning this coin. Specifically the 1997 AA. From my research and many other collectors of the same opinion, no one has ever claimed to have seen one. Pobjoys encyclopedia 1988-1999 refers to this coin as existing but I have come across many errors in this book and on that basis cannot trust this information is accurate.
Can any of the 7% on this site provide a picture or video of this coin to put this issue to bed once and for all!?
Thanks in advance. Dan.
Link: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces39008.html

Welcome to Numista!

Unfortunately, those figures don't necessarily mean much. Some people who collect only by type click on any date, which is annoying. Note also that, if we trust the catalogue, some of our fellow Numista friends are very, very wealthy.

Still, someone did add a line for that date. This was most probably taken from the Krause World Coins catalogue and, indeed, it is listed in recent editions. It is, however, the last year of the series, so either it was added in Krause by mistake, or else it exists, but there's something we need to figure out about why it is so hard to track down.

Note that there are many, many mistakes in the Krause catalogues. This is not surprising since they deal with several million entries.

It doesn't show up on eBay (via picclick) which strongly suggests that it doesn't exist.

I am the ref. I contacted Pobjoy. They confirm the existence of this coin.

Pobjoy has said it exist because they are going but what they say in their book but no one has shown evidence of this I think they are wrong I have been looking for 1997 viranium 2 pound coins for along time still no evidence of its existence .in 1997 their was a Hercules coin made of 2 pound coin and .in pobjoy book I think they are wrong same as other info of thieir book .very intresting post you looking for the same coin as I am

If you look bellow in forum post you will see I'm asking about the same coin as you 1997 cannon .I have all cannons now and as said been looking for years for this coin I say it's a error

Απόσπασμα: "Kevin4545"​If you look bellow in forum post you will see I'm asking about the same coin as you 1997 cannon .I have all cannons now and as said been looking for years for this coin I say it's a error

​Hi Kevin,

if PM say they minted it, I tend to believe it. You see, even as living in Gibraltar it might be ultra rare, so you can not deduce that it doesn't exist, just because you have not found it.

Take care

Απόσπασμα: "Kevin4545"​If you look bellow in forum post you will see I'm asking about the same coin as you 1997 cannon .I have all cannons now and as said been looking for years for this coin I say it's a error

​Hi Kevin,

if PM say they minted it, I tend to believe it. You see, even as you, living in Gibraltar, have not seen it, it might be so ultra rare, so you can not deduce that it doesn't exist, just because you have not found it. Maybe Oklahoman can find the mintage of the year?

Take care

Yes, I hoped to know what the mintage was.
1- If like other years, why don’t we find any of those coins? It’s priced like the other years in Krause.
2- If very low, wouldn’t this rare coin come once in a while at auction still?
3- If ultra rare, how is that not discussed in the numismatic literature?

I was wondering, too, whether the mint just reported about the Hercules type instead of the canon type.

The mint specifically addressed the two types.

Thanks for all of your input guys. Camerinvs raised some interesting points.
As I've said above, I really dont trust what Pobjoy say as they have claimed things I have found to be incorrect in the past. I think the issue is that they dont seem to keep records, or at least they didn't up until a point.
The only way to be satisfied the coin exists is to be shown a picture or video. I have tried to search the members on this site who claim to own one but have been unable to. Is there a way to do this and contact them?

I have their contact info and will ask. However, Pobjoy, as the producing Mint, will always have a bit more cred than hearsay from a member who has never seen the item in question.

Pobjoy has many items you may have never seen. Doesnt mean they dont exist. I have patterns, withdrawn, and esoteric items of Pobjoy that many folks might have never seen. Not being seen cannot be a reason for numismatic exclusion.

But it should be super easy to find it online. The Hercules type is easy to find.

This has happened also with coins of the Franklin Mint that are listed in Krause but that nobody seems to have ever seen or found online.

Kudos the collector researcher. The mints contention is not to be disregarded in this situation. Not having seen it is no reason to remove it. We will be discovering and rediscovering unlisted and unknown issues for years to come. Pobjoy remains silent in many situations, it seems strange not to take them at their word when they are transparent.

I think should not be removed but as skalywag said the only way to prove existence is to see a vedio of coin .it maybe that people have entered in numista the coin wrongly in their collection. I have contacted pobjoy aswell like Oklahoma and they say it exist but never seen one myself and pobjoy has not shown any info apart from what is in their book .