Agatha Christie immortalised on £2 coins to mark 100 years since her first book

The Royal Mint is selling new £2 coins commemorating the Centenary of Dame Agatha Christie's first novel.

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot was introduced to the world when The Mysterious Affair At Styles was published in October 1920.

Since then Dame Agatha's tales have been published in more than 50 languages and sold in over 100 countries.

The new £2 coin is being made available to buy on the Royal Mint's website in different metals.

Prices range from £10 to over £1000 for a version in gold.

Clare Maclennan, from the Royal Mint, said: "The coin's design is adorned with all the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie novel, with the jigsaw pieces representing ingenious plot twists that we are all familiar with when reading her mystery novels."

Dame Agatha's great-grandson James Prichard added: "I'm delighted that the Royal Mint are honouring the work of my great-grandmother in this way.

She was, quite simply, a genius, and it is fantastic to see her stories and characters continuing to receive such recognition 100 years after her first novel was published."

The Mint said it will not be releasing the coins into general circulation.

The news comes days after the announcement of a new range of coins inspired by A.A. Milne's beloved character Winnie the Pooh.

It said: "Bee-ginning with Winnie the Pooh 50p coin, we are introducing a series of designs inspired by the classic stories of A.A. Milne.

"Welcome Winnie the Pooh and friends into your life as they appear for the first time on a UK 50p coin."

We don't know yet if the coins will be released into general circulation, or kept as collectors' editions sold at Post Offices and from the Royal Mint website.

You can register for updates about the Winnie the 50p Pooh collection from the Royal Mint here.