Twenty Pence 2008 (Dent design), Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

The obverse shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.

In tiny letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).

Around the effigy is the monarch's legend and the date: ELIZABETH · II · D · G · REG · F · D · 2008. Translated from Latin: Elizabeth the Second, by the grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith 2008.

The reverse of the 20p coin depicts the meeting point of the second and fourth quarter of the Royal Shield, showing the Lion Rampant of Scotland and the Lions Passants of England. The value and denomination TWENTY PENCE are around right.

The designer's initials MD (for Matthew Dent) are raised in small letters in the groove between the shield and the lower right field (in the continuation of the dotted line which goes across the 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 these coins were still legal tender, although due to their rarity they are traded above face value by collectors.