Start the rummaging in you piggy banks, and you childrens ones as well. I thought I had one, it turned out I was just blind
(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45984000/jpg/_45984854_20p.jpg)
A batch of 20p coins accidentally issued with no date on them could be worth £50 each, say coin collectors.
Tens of thousands of the coins have been produced in error by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, near Cardiff.
They are said to be the first undated British coins to enter circulation for more than 300 years.
The Royal Mint said the issue had been resolved but wanted to reassure the public that the faulty 20p coins were still legal tender.
But with experts saying the coins could be worth up to £50 each, anyone finding an undated 20p may be reluctant to put it towards a loaf of bread.
The date on the new 20p was moved from the 'tails' to the 'heads' side when the country's coins were redesigned last year.
The coins without a date were created by accidentally pairing up the new 'tails' side with the old 'heads' - meaning no date appeared at all.
Legal tender
A batch of somewhere between 50,000 and 200,000 of the coins are thought to have entered circulation.
A Royal Mint spokesperson said: "The Royal Mint can confirm that a small number of new design 20 pence coins have been incorrectly struck using the obverse from the previous design, resulting in these coins having no date.
"The issue has now been resolved and the Royal Mint would like to reassure members of the public that these coins are legal tender."
COIN FACTFILE
The 20p piece was first struck in 1982
The Tudor Rose design was used continuously on the 20p until 2008
There have been two other coins with errors struck in the decimal era since 1971, but they did not enter circulation.
The first British coin issued with a date in numerals was the English 1551 silver crown of King Edward VI
From 1662 onwards all coins have carried the date of issue
In the mid-19th century, Queen Victoria issued a series of silver florins that were dated in Roman numerals
Source: The London Mint Office
Nick Hart, of specialist coin collector company The London Mint Office, said: "Last year the Royal Mint changed all the designs of our circulating coinage, which is a tradition every 40 years or so.
"And when they did this they struck a new design on one side of the coin and the old design on the reverse of the coin and that's led to one of the sides being undated - which makes them incredibly valuable."
He added: "We believe this extremely rare error will certainly get the public looking at the coins in their pockets again and noticing the excellent new designs launched by the Royal Mint last year on our coinage."
Matthew Dent, 26, from Bangor, Gwynedd, won a competition to design the first new British coin series for 40 years.
The London Mint Office said there had been two other coins with errors produced in the decimal era, but they did not enter circulation.
In 1983 some 2p coins were struck with a die that used the old terminology "NEW PENCE" instead of "TWO PENCE".
And in 1994 a gold £2 commemorative coin was issued with the wrong legend on the Queen's portrait side.
From the bbc
and I am looking 10% :D
Heard about this earlier in the week. With that number inc irculation, anyone who pays big money is an idiot. Look at the ebay ads at the top of this page - they're going for next to nothing.
I heard some idiot paid thousands for one on eBay earlier in the week.
I have about £200 in 20p's, must keep an eye out for them
A batch of 20p coins accidentally issued with no date on them could be worth £50 each, say coin collectors.
Tens of thousands of the coins have been produced in error by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, near Cardiff.
Rare mistakes might be worth £50 each. Tens of thousands of mistakes won't be.
Whose head is that on the coin.....
I'm only use to coins with a harp on the back of it....
Quote from: hardstation on July 02, 2009, 08:03:40 PM
And you cant read?
Elizabeth II.
I never saw Elizabeth I is Elizabeth II any good? Though the sequel never usually is...
You mean the current Queen ? :-\
Quote from: DennistheMenace on July 02, 2009, 08:07:56 PM
You mean the current Queen ? :-\
Hasn't been the same since Freddie Mercury died.
Going by this article I think they're worth a bit more than the £50 that the experts predicted
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196644/Rare-20p-coin-sells-7-100-eBay-thats-35-500-times-face-value.html
Quote from: Maguire01 on July 02, 2009, 07:20:22 PM
Heard about this earlier in the week. With that number inc irculation, anyone who pays big money is an idiot. Look at the ebay ads at the top of this page - they're going for next to nothing.
the one on thr top is £102 as I post
QuoteI heard some idiot paid thousands for one on eBay earlier in the week.
Must be true then
Quote from: dec on July 02, 2009, 07:27:58 PM
A batch of 20p coins accidentally issued with no date on them could be worth £50 each, say coin collectors.
Tens of thousands of the coins have been produced in error by the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, near Cardiff.
Rare mistakes might be worth £50 each. Tens of thousands of mistakes won't be.
A rare mistake would be worth a helluva lot more than £50.
Coin collectors would want one of these and I'm sure they'd pay at least £50.
Not sure I'd sell if I had one. Even in 12 months time there'd be far less of them on the market, therefore the price would go up a lot.