Some sellers have listed this coin for as much as £120 on eBay.
Brits have been urged to check their change for a seemingly ordinary coin that could be worth 300 times its face value. According to an expert a number of 20p pieces could fetch up to £60 each due to a specific error.
These coins might be hard to spot as they appear “normal” at first glance. However, if you look carefully you will notice something is missing on one side.
An expert, known online as the Coin Collector UK, shared more on social media platform TikTok. He said: “One of these 20p coins is worth £60, here’s the one that you want to be looking out for in your change.”
He then explained that you are looking for a shield design 20p coin with no date on the head side. “So, what you want to be checking for on all of your shield 20p coins is on the back of the coin,” he said.
“If it doesn’t have a date on the bottom, then this is a very rare mule error. In 2008 the Royal Mint accidentally minted 20p coins with no date.
It is thought there could be up to a quarter of a million of these coins in circulation. The Coin Collector continued: “As with any error the exact numbers produced are known but it’s estimated between 50,000 and 250,000 of these coins managed to make their way into circulation.”
He explained how the error came into existence. “The main reason why this error was produced in the first place was because in 2008, the 20p definitive design changed from the Tudor rose to the shield.
“And you can see on the Tudor rose coin the date is actually on the front, so there was no need for a date on the obverse head side of the coin. So the Royal Mint accidentally minted the shield coin with this obverse by mistake and this is what led to the mule error being produced.
“They tend to sell for around £50 to £60.” At the time of reporting one of these error coins was listed on eBay for £120, with another for £100.
