The British decimal twenty pencecoin (often shortened to 20p in writing and speech) is a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄5 of a pound. Like the 50p coin, it is an equilateral curveheptagon.[1] Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin's introduction on 9 June 1982.[1] Four different portraits of the Queen have been used; the latest design by Jody Clark was introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse (as of 2019), featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008.[1]
As of March 2014 there were an estimated 2,765 million 20p coins in circulation, with an estimated face value of £553.025 million.[2] Of this estimated number, between 50,000 and 200,000 of these coins are undated mule coins minted in 2008 after the dies for the old and new designs were accidentally mixed up during the minting process.
Beyond the usual commemorative versions, no 20 pence coins were minted for general circulation in 2017. This was because the concurrent introduction of the new version of the one pound coin had put enough 20 pence (and two pound) coins back into circulation, as people emptied coin jars primarily for the older one pound coin that was due to be withdrawn.[3]
20p coins are legal tender for amounts up to the sum of £10 when offered in repayment of a debt; however, the coin's legal tender status is not normally relevant for everyday transactions.
Design
Original reverse: 1982–2008
The original reverse of the coin, designed by William Gardner, and used from 1982 to 2008, is a crowned Tudor rose, with the numeral "20" below the rose, and TWENTY PENCE above the rose.
To date, three different obverses have been used. On coins minted before the 2008 redesign, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D..[4] Coins minted after the 2008 redesign also have the year of minting on the obverse.
From 1998 to 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used,[5] again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark IRB below the portrait.
As of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation.
In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin.[6] The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008.[7] The designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety was featured on the now-obsolete round £1 coin. The 20p coin depicts the meeting point of the second and fourth quarter of the shield, showing the lions rampant of Scotland and the lions passant of England. The date no longer appears on the reverse of the coin, and has instead been added to the obverse, where the lettering has been adjusted so as to fit the date in.
In October 2023 the King Charles III twenty-pence coin was presented; the coin features a puffin. [8][9]
Dateless coin
An unusual accidental dateless version of the 20 pence was reported to be in circulation in June 2009, the first undated British coin to enter circulation in more than 300 years. This was the result of the production of a mule, i.e. a version of the coin with a non-standard combination of obverse and reverse face designs. The fault occurred as a result of the 2008 redesign of UK coinage, which moved the date on a 20 pence from the reverse to the obverse (Queen's head side), and a batch of coins were produced using the tooling for the obverse of the old design and the reverse of the new design. The Royal Mint estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 entered circulation before the error was noticed. The Royal Mint stated that these coins were legal tender, although due to their rarity they are traded at above face value by collectors. Following publicity about the coins, they were initially traded on eBay for several thousand pounds, although an eBay spokesman was unable to confirm if an accepted winning bid of £7,100 for one coin had actually been transacted.[10]
In June 2011 they traded at around £100.[11]
Mintages
Number of twenty pence coins minted for circulation by year[12]
Year
Number minted
Portrait
Reverse
1982
740,815,000
Machin
Gardner
1983
158,463,000
1984
65,350,965
1985
74,273,699
Maklouf
1986
0
1987
137,450,000
1988
38,038,344
1989
132,013,890
1990
88,097,500
1991
35,901,250
1992
31,205,000
1993
123,123,750
1994
67,131,250
1995
102,005,000
1996
83,163,750
1997
89,518,750
1998
76,965,000
Rank-Broadley
1999
73,478,750
2000
136,428,750
2001
148,122,500
2002
93,360,000
2003
153,383,750
2004
120,212,500
2005
124,488,750
2006
114,800,000
2007
117,075,000
2008
11,900,000
115,022,000
Dent
2009
121,625,300
2010
112,875,500
2011
191,625,000
2012
69,650,030
2013
66,325,000
2014
173,775,000
2015
63,175,000
131,250,000
Clark
2016
212,625,000
2017
0
2018
0
2019
125,125,000
2020
32,725,000
2021
19,600,000
2022
42,875,000
Mint Sets have been produced since 1982; where mintages on or after that date indicate 'none', there are examples contained within those sets.
