2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p Coin
The 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p is a 20p coin struck for circulation with 63.2 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2015
- Circulation mintage
- 63,175,000
- 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 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p worth?
63.2 million were made, so the 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 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 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p rare?
- No. 63.2 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p coins were made?
- 63,175,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 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 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 20p, including the undated 2008 coin, is legal tender in the UK.
The 2015 20p coin in context
2015 is a split year for the 20p. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen had been on the coin since 1998 and the Royal Mint replaced it partway through the year with a new one by Jody Clark. Coins struck before the change carry Rank-Broadley's portrait and those are the scarcer half: 63,175,000 of them, against 131,250,000 with the new portrait. Both carry the same shield reverse and the same date, so the portrait is the only thing to check.
That makes the 2015 Rank-Broadley coin the last of a seventeen-year run and the lowest mintage of his portrait on the shield design. Rank-Broadley's likeness had shown the Queen as she was in the late 1990s and by 2015 she was nearly ninety, so an update was overdue. His portrait was retired across the circulating coins at the same time, which is why most 2015 denominations come in two portrait versions. Finding both 20ps from 2015 is one of the easier and more satisfying pairings in modern British change. It makes a good first project for a new collector.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows Rank-Broadley's Queen facing right in the tiara known as the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, with IRB below the neck and the date in the legend. The reverse is Matthew Dent's segment of the Royal Shield with TWENTY PENCE. Size, weight and metal are the standard 21.4 mm, 5 g and cupronickel. To tell it from the Clark version, look at the portrait: Rank-Broadley's Queen wears a tiara, while Clark's wears a diadem topped with crosses. The initials under the neck confirm it, IRB here and JC on the later coin. Both versions share the same edge, weight and size.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p ranks 9th lowest of 41 20p dates and varieties from 1982 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2022 20p (42.9 million); the next more common is the 1984 20p (65.4 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1982 20p with 740.8 million, about 12 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 20p with 525,000, 120 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2015 output was 2.8 times fewer than 2014 and 3.4 times fewer than 2016. Other 2015 20p coins: 2015 Clark Portrait 20p (131.3 million).
Over the 2010s the Mint produced 1.15 billion 20p coins across 11 dates and varieties; the 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p accounts for 5.5% of that.
What to check on your 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 20p
- Confirm the date and the variety (rank-broadley portrait). 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.
Circulated 2015 Rank-Broadley 20ps are face value coins and still turn up regularly, but they are worth pulling out to pair with the Clark version. Uncirculated examples from the 2015 sets draw a small premium as the last of the fourth portrait. In change, look for coins with crisp hair detail and an unscratched field around the bust. Keep the two 2015 portraits side by side in an album to show the changeover. A pair in matching condition looks best.
Matthew Dent's Royal Shield twenty pence (2008 to 2022)
In 2008 every coin from 1p to 50p got a new reverse for the first time since decimalization. The Royal Mint had run an open competition and the winner was Matthew Dent, a young graphic designer whose idea was a jigsaw. He cut the Royal Shield into pieces and gave one to each coin, so the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p laid out together rebuild the whole shield, while the round pound of the period showed it complete. The 20p carries its segment of the shield with TWENTY PENCE written in words. There is no numeral and no date on this side.
With the date gone from the reverse it had to move to the portrait side, which meant a new obverse die as well. That change caused the famous undated 20p of 2008: some coins were struck with the new shield reverse and the old obverse, so neither side shows a year. The coin itself stayed the same, seven-sided, 21.4 mm, 5 g and cupronickel. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait ran until 2015, when Jody Clark's took over, so 2015 comes in two versions. Output swung widely: past 190 million in 2011, past 212 million in 2016, then nothing for change in 2017 or 2018.
For most shield 20ps the only question is condition, since they were made in huge numbers. A few things deserve a second look. First, turn every shield 20p over and make sure a date appears somewhere; if it doesn't, you have the undated mule. Second, the pandemic and the fall in cash use pushed output right down, with 32,725,000 in 2020 and only 19,600,000 in 2021. Third, 2017 and 2018 exist only in sets. Check the portrait on any 2015 coin, since the Rank-Broadley version is the smaller of the two.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 20 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2015 |
| Circulation mintage | 63,175,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (84% copper, 16% nickel) |
| Weight | 5.0 g |
| Diameter | 21.4 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2015 20p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 Clark Portrait 20p Coin | 131,250,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two 2015 20p coins?
The Queen's portrait changed partway through 2015. Early coins carry Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait and later ones carry Jody Clark's. Both have the same Royal Shield reverse and the same date, so check the portrait and initials.
Which 2015 20p is scarcer?
The Rank-Broadley version, with 63,175,000 made, against 131,250,000 for the Clark version. Both are common in circulated condition, so neither is more than face value when worn. Sharp ones are worth keeping as a pair.
Mintage figures: Twenty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.