A coin specialist has urged Britons to "stop spending" a particular coin without examining it first, as it could be worth considerably more than its face value. This specific piece contains a minting error, making it valued at approximately £60 apiece.
The 2008 20p Coin Error
The coin in question dates back to 2008. Back then, thousands were produced with a mistake that collectors now value. This error results in the affected coins displaying no date whatsoever, and the resulting coins are in high demand.
An expert known online as the Coin Collecting Wizard explained: "Stop spending your 20p coins without checking them first because one from 2008 with no date is worth £60."
How to Identify the Rare Coin
Ordinarily, the date on a 2008 20p coin appears on the reverse, or tails, side. He went on to say: "Normally, the date on a 20p is on the reverse right under the crown. But in 2008, something strange happened. A small number of 20ps were minted with a new obverse - the shield side paired with the old reverse Tudor rose but neither side has a date. This is what we call a mule error. When mismatched dies are used and this one slipped into circulation without anyone noticing."
While these coins are "rare," they're not "impossible to find," the expert noted. "Normally, 20p coins have the date on the back, but if you check and there's no date on either side, you might be holding the rare one. These undated 20ps are rare but not impossible to find in average condition. They go for £60 plus. People are still finding them in their change even 15 years later."
Official Statement from The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint stated on its website: "In November 2008, a number of 20p coins were incorrectly minted, resulting in the coins being undated. 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. These coins remain legal tender and still have a face value of 20p."
At the time of reporting, one of these rare 2008 error 20p coins was listed on eBay with a starting price of £99.50.
