Twenty pounds (British coin) facts for kids
| United Kingdom | |
| Value | £20 |
|---|---|
| Mass | 15.71 g |
| Diameter | approx 27 mm |
| Edge | Milled |
| Composition | .999 fine silver |
| Years of minting | 2013-present |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Designer | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Design date | 1998 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | No standard reverse design; |
The British twenty pound (£20) coin is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage, first issued by the Royal Mint in 2013. It is minted in .999 fine silver. Twenty pound coins are legal tender but are intended as souvenirs and are almost never seen in general circulation.
Design
The designs which have appeared on the twenty pound coin's reverse are summarised in the table below.
Welsh Dragon £20
From 2016 to 2020 the Royal Mint produced a Welsh Dragon £20 on a backdrop of the visitor centre at the Royal Mint Experience. Some of these years have been accompanied by the same coin on a backdrop of the Welsh flag. The visitor centre coin could only be purchased at the shop.
| Year | Event | Design | Edge Inscription | Designer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | - | Saint George and the Dragon | Milled | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| 2014 | The 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War | Britannia and a lion on the left-hand side with warships in the background. An inscription above and to the right reads THE FIRST WORLD WAR, and below and to the left of that the dates 1914-1918 | John Bergdahl | |
| 2015 | The 50th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill's death | Winston Churchill | Etienne Millner | |
| The Longest Reigning Monarch | The five portraits of Queen Elizabeth II to appear on British coinage above the words "EIIR The Longest Reign" | Stephen Taylor | ||
| 2016 | 90th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II | The royal cypher wreathed and crowned, all surrounded by roses | Christopher Hobbs | |
| Welsh Dragon Celebration | The Welsh dragon | Norman Sillman | ||
| Christmas | The nativity | Gregory Cameron | ||
| 2017 | Platinum Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip | Equestrian portrait of the Queen and Prince Philip | John Bergdahl | |
| 2019 | Welsh Dragon Celebration | The Welsh dragon | Norman Sillman |
Legal tender status
The prolific issuance since 2013 of silver commemorative £20, £50 and £100 coins at face value has led to attempts to spend or deposit these coins, prompting the Royal Mint to clarify the legal tender status of these silver coins.
Royal Mint guidelines advise that, although these coins were approved as legal tender, they are considered to be limited edition collectables not intended for general circulation.
