Obverse. Photo © Downies
  • 20 Pence 2008, KM# 1122, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II
  • 20 Pence 2008, KM# 1122, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II
Description

In November 2008 a number of 20p coins were incorrectly minted resulting in their having no date.

This problem affected less than 250,000 coins of the 136 million 20p pieces minted in 2008-09 and was due to the previous obverse (the ‘Heads’ side) being used with the new reverse (the ‘Tails’ side) design, meaning the year of issue did not feature at all.

It is the first British coin to be made without a date for almost 350 years, the last being in 1662.

Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

ELIZABETH II
IRB
D·G·REG·F·D

Reverse

The design depicts depicts the lower part of the second quarter and upper part of the fourth quarter, showing the lion rampant of Scotland and the lions passant of England respectively.

Engraver: Matthew Dent

TWENTY PENCE
MD

Edge

20 Pence

4th portrait, Undated Mule
KM# 1122 Sp# G4A
Characteristics
Material Cupronickel
Weight 5 g
Diameter 21.4 mm
Thickness 1.7 mm
Shape polygon
Sides 7
Alignment Medal

Related coins

2nd portrait

Cupronickel, 5 g, ⌀ 21 mm
3rd portrait

Cupronickel, 5 g, ⌀ 21 mm
4th portrait

Cupronickel, 5 g, ⌀ 21.4 mm