1982 20p Coin
The 1982 20p is a 20p coin struck for circulation with 740.8 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1982
- Circulation mintage
- 740,815,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Cupronickel (84% copper, 16% nickel)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1982 20p worth?
740.8 million were made, so the 1982 20p is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins and coins still in their original Royal Mint pack.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition
- A sets-only date
- A genuine error such as the undated 2008 mule
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1982 20p rare?
- No. 740.8 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1982 20p coins were made?
- 740,815,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1982 20p made of?
- Cupronickel (84% copper, 16% nickel). It weighs 5.0 g and measures 21.4 mm, with a seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) shape.
- Is the 1982 20p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 20p, including the undated 2008 coin, is legal tender in the UK.
The 1982 20p coin in context
The 20p was a long time coming. When Britain went decimal in 1971 there was nothing between the 10p and the 50p. As prices rose through the 1970s people needed more and more 10p coins to make up everyday amounts, which weighed down pockets and tills and kept the Mint's presses busy turning out low value pieces. A coin worth two of them would ease the load. The new 20p entered circulation on 9 June 1982 and people took to it quickly, helped by a shape that was already familiar from the 50p.
The launch year needed a lot of coins, since every bank, shop till and vending machine in the country had to be stocked from scratch. The Royal Mint struck 740,815,000 of them dated 1982, by far the largest figure in the coin's history and more than four times the next year's total. 1982 was also the year British coins dropped the word NEW from NEW PENCE, so the 20p arrived without it from day one. It is the only coin from 1p to 50p that never carried the old wording, which is a nice detail to point out to anyone new to decimal coins.
How to recognize it
William Gardner's reverse shows a crowned double rose, the Tudor badge that combines the roses of Lancaster and York, with TWENTY PENCE and the figure 20. The date is on this side too, which is unusual for a British coin. The obverse carries Arnold Machin's portrait of the Queen wearing a tiara, with her Latin titles around it and no date. The coin is seven-sided with curved edges, 21.4 mm across, 5 g in weight and struck in cupronickel of 84% copper and 16% nickel. Its plain edge and distinctive outline make it easy to pick out by touch, even in a dark pocket.
The other side carries Arnold Machin's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used on UK coins from 1968 to 1984.
1982 20p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1982 20p is the most common of 41 20p dates and varieties from 1982 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2016 20p (212.6 million).
Compared with the dates around it, the 1982 output was 4.7 times the 1983 figure.
Over the 1980s the Mint produced 1.35 billion 20p coins across 8 dates and varieties; the 1982 20p accounts for 55% of that.
What to check on your 1982 20p
- Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Count the sides: a genuine 20p has seven curved sides, measures 21.4 mm and weighs 5 g.
- Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.
With more than 740 million made, a circulated 1982 20p is a face value coin and you will still find them in change after more than forty years. The appeal is that it is the first year of a new denomination, which makes it a natural starting point for a date run. Collectors look for coins with full detail in the crown and the petals and no knocks on the corners. Uncirculated and proof examples came in the year's annual sets. Those are the best way to get a pristine first year coin without hunting through jars.
The crowned rose with the Machin and Maklouf portraits (1982 to 1997)
The 20p was launched on 9 June 1982 to sit between the 10p and the 50p. Rising prices had left people paying for everyday things in fistfuls of 10p pieces and a coin worth two of them was the obvious fix. It also arrived in the year British coins stopped saying NEW, so it read TWENTY PENCE from the very first strike. William Gardner's reverse put a crowned double rose at the center, the Tudor emblem uniting Lancaster and York, with the figure 20 and the year on the same face.
Two portraits of the Queen cover these years. Arnold Machin's version, with the Queen in a tiara, was used for just three dates, 1982 to 1984. From 1985 Raphael Maklouf's portrait took over, showing her in the George IV State Diadem with RDM below the neck. Output swung wildly. The launch needed 740,815,000 coins, then the figure fell to 158,463,000 in 1983 and 65,350,965 in 1984. None at all were made for change in 1986. After that, big years such as 1987 and 1989 alternated with lean ones. 1991 and 1992 both came in below 36 million before a rebound to 123,123,750 in 1993.
Physically the coin never changed: seven curved sides of constant width, 21.4 mm, 5 g of cupronickel that is 84% copper and 16% nickel with a plain edge. The dates that reward a search are the sets-only 1986 plus the low runs of 1988, 1991 and 1992. A 1984 Machin coin next to a 1985 Maklouf one makes a neat pair showing the portrait change. On worn coins the rose petals and the arches of the crown go first, so judge condition there. Set coins are the easy way to own these dates unworn.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 20 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1982 |
| Circulation mintage | 740,815,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (84% copper, 16% nickel) |
| Weight | 5.0 g |
| Diameter | 21.4 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Machin |
Frequently asked questions
When was the 20p coin first issued?
It entered circulation on 9 June 1982. It filled the gap between the 10p and the 50p, which had both been in use since decimalization. The Royal Mint struck 740,815,000 coins dated 1982 to get it into tills.
Is a 1982 20p rare?
No. 1982 has the highest mintage of any 20p, at 740,815,000, so worn coins are face value. Its interest is as the first year of issue. Collectors look for sharp uncirculated examples, usually from that year's sets.
Mintage figures: Twenty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.