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

The twenty pence coin is a circulating denomination of the British (decimal) Pound Sterling.

In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008. In a world-first concept, 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 new 20p coin design, which replaced the earlier 20p design by William Gardner, 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 value and denomination, in words: TWENTY PENCE are around right. 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.

To help identification and avoid confusion with similar sized coins the 20p is seven sided and like the 50p is an equilateral curve heptagon. The shape, with its constant rolling diameter, means that it is readily acceptable in vending machines. Its composition is 84% copper and 16% nickel.

Twenty and fifty pence coins are legal tender only up to the sum of £10; this means that it is permissible to refuse payment of sums greater than this amount in 20p coins in order to settle a debt.

Coins issued in 2008 have now been circulating for 11 years.

Crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (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.