British twenty pence coin Totally Explained

Everything about British Twenty Pence Coin totally explained

ť This article describes the modern British twenty pence coin. For the 13th century English gold coin see Gold penny.

The British decimal twenty pence (20p) coin – often pronounced "twenty pee" – was issued on 9 June 1982 to fill the obvious gap between the ten pence and fifty pence coins. It rapidly gained acceptance: as of December 2005 there were an estimated 2,190 million 20p coins in circulation.
The coin is minted from an alloy of 84% copper and 16% nickel (unlike the other 'silver' coins which are 75% copper, 25% nickel), weighs 5.00 grams and has a diameter of 21.4 millimetres. Like the fifty pence piece, the coin isn't circular, but is seven-sided to aid identification. The sides are not straight but are curved so that the centre of curvature is the opposite apex of the coin – this is an equilateral curve (a curve of constant width) which allows the coin to roll freely in slot machines.
Three different obverses have been used so far: between 1982 and 1984 the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin; between 1985 and 1997 the head by Raphael Maklouf; and since 1998 the head by Ian Rank-Broadley. In all cases, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. As with all British coinage, the technical specifications are the same as those of coins issued by such territories as the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar etc. As a result coins from these territories can sometimes be found in UK circulation. The 20p coin was introduced in the Channel islands before mainland Britain.

Reverse designs

1982–2008

The original reverse of the coin, designed by William Gardner, is a crowned Tudor Rose, with the numeral "20" below the rose, the year, and TWENTY PENCE above the rose. Uniquely in modern British coinage, the inscriptions are mostly incuse; for example the lettering is punched into the coin rather than standing proud of it. The coin also differed from other British coinage at the time (bar the more recent £2 coin) in that the year of mintage is displayed on the reverse (the opposite side to the Queen's head).

2008–

In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins except the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs will appear on the British coinage from summer 2008. 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 is featured on the £1 coin. The 20p coin depicts the meeting point of the second and fourth quarter of the shield, showing the Lion Rampant of Scotland and the Lions Passants of England. The words TWENTY PENCE now appear on two sides of the coin on the right of the main design of the coin.
The new design has lost one aspect of the coin's individuality in that the date of mintage is no longer seen on the reverse. The date will now appear on the obverse as is the case for the other coins.

Mintages

1982 ~ 740,815,000
1983 ~ 158,463,000
1984 ~ 65,350,965
1985 ~ 74,273,699
1986 ~ none
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
1999 ~ 73,478,750
2000 ~ 136,418,750
2001 ~ 148,122,500
2002 ~ 93,360,000
2003 ~ 153,383,750
2004 ~ 120,212,500
2005 ~ 81,356,250

Further Information

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