1997 AD., United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, Royal Mint, 2 Pence, KM 936a.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Elizabeth II, engravers Raphael David Maklouf (obverse) and Christopher Ironside (reverse), Royal Mint, Llantrisant, Wales, 1997 AD.,
2 Pence (25,9 mm / 7,13 g), copper plated steel (magnetic), 7,12 g theor. mint weight, mintage 496.116.000 , axis medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), plain edge,
Obv.: ELIZABETH II – D · G · REG · F · D · 1997 / RDM , head of Elizabeth facing r., wearing the George IV State Diadem (3rd portrait), engraver´s initials RDM at truncation.
Rev.: TWO PENCE / 2 , the Badge of the Prince of Wales: a plume within coronet of ostrich feathers within a coronet, his German motto 'ICH - DIEN' (I serve) on ribbons , value number '2' below.
Spink C4 (former Spink 4386) ; KM 936a .

Date / Mintage / Details
1992 102,247,000
1993 235,674,000
1993 66,080 Proof
1994 531,628,000
1994 66,721 Proof
1995 124,482,000
1995 60,639 Proof
1996 296,278,000
1996 67,581 Proof
1997 496,116,000
1997 80,748 Proof

The Prince of Wales's feathers is the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales. It consists of three white feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the motto Ich dien (German for "I serve", a contraction of ich diene = ich dien' ). As well as being used in royal heraldry, the badge is sometimes used to symbolise Wales, particularly in Welsh rugby union and Welsh rugby league; however, its use as such is controversial and rejected by some Welsh nationalists as a symbol of the British monarchy rather than Wales.
The badge has no connection with the native Princes of Wales. It is thought to have originated with Edward, the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III of England. According to legend, the Black Prince obtained the arms from the blind John I of Bohemia, against whom he fought in the Battle of Crécy in 1346. After the battle, the prince went to the body of the dead king (whom he admired for his bravery) and took his helmet lined with ostrich feathers. The feathers and the dead king's motto made up the prince's new badge and came to be used by subsequent Princes of Wales. Since a key factor in the English army's defeat of the French was the use of Welsh archers, it may have been Edward's pride in the men of Wales which led him to use a symbol of their victory as his emblem. The motto is German "Ich Dien" (= "I serve"), which is a near-homophone for the Welsh language phrase "Eich Dyn" meaning "Your Man", which would have helped endear the young Black Prince to the Welsh soldiers in particular.
In another version, the helmet belonged to a dead German mercenary whose helmet with the ostrich feathers and the motto "Ich dien" was claimed by Edward as a trophy.
The origin of both the feathers and the motto may have a less romantic history, with indications that the arms were inherited by the prince from his father. Another theory is that the ostrich feather badge was inherited from his mother Philippa of Hainault, who was descended from the Counts of Hainault, whose eldest son had the title "Count of Ostrehans", and the ostrich (French: autruche) feathers were a heraldic pun on that name.