Twenty Cents, Steel, Coin Type from South Africa - detailed information

The South African Twenty Cents coin (abbreviated as 20c) is a small circulating coin of the Rand currency. It was introduced when the currency was decimalised in 1961 and replaced the earlier pre-decimal two shillings coin, retaining at that time its design, dimensions and metal content. The silver version of the Twenty Cents was only issued for four years though. In 1965, the Second Decimal Series was introduced, in which the Twenty Cents denomination was made of nickel.

The denomination was changed to a smaller bronze-plated steel version with the Third Decimal Series in 1990. It received a new reverse design with the Fourth Decimal Series in 2023, and had its weight changed from 3.5 to 3 grams.

The 1990 reverse features the remarkable South African flower, the Protea cynaroids - one of the first distinctive South African symbols that appeared on the tickey and sixpence coins from 1925 to 1960. With the introduction of South Africa’s first decimal series (1961-1964) the Protea was again depicted on the 2½c and 5c coins which were designed by George Kruger Gray. With the second decimal coin series (1965-1989), an outstanding South African horticultural artist, Cynthna Letty was responsible for the artwork. The new Protea design depicted the Protea plant with three flowers in various stages on the nickel 20c coin. Die-sinker Tommy Sasseen modelled the design from the original watercolour painting which can be viewed at the South African Mint museum. In 1989 the third decimal coin series was introduced and the Protea was selected for the new bronze plated 20c coin. Die-sinker, Susan Erasmus developed the design from the first artwork. In 1996, the design underwent a slight modification to accommodate a larger “20c” numeral on the coin. The 2023 design features the bitter aloe, a tall and single-stemmed plant that can reach a height of up to three metres; it has thick and fleshy leaves that are arranged in rosettes and adorned with reddish-brown spines on the margins, along with smaller spines on the upper and lower surfaces.

The obverse displays the Coat of Arms of South Africa at its centre. This was the old (1910) Coat of Arms until 2000, then was updated to the current symbol. The legend was initially bilingual, then one language only, then bilingual again. An annual rotation of the language of the legend was instituted after 2001, with one of the eleven official languages of the country taking precedence in successive years.