2023 20p Coin
The 2023 20p is a 20p coin struck for circulation with 525,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2023
- Circulation mintage
- 525,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- 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 2023 20p worth?
At 525,000, the 2023 20p has a smaller run than most 20p coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
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 2023 20p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 20p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2023 20p coins were made?
- 525,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2023 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 2023 20p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 20p, including the undated 2008 coin, is legal tender in the UK.
The 2023 20p coin in context
The first 20p of King Charles III is dated 2023 and only 525,000 were struck for circulation. That is by far the smallest circulating figure in the coin's history, less than a thirtieth of the 2021 run and a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions made in the 1980s. The reason isn't scarcity by design. Billions of the Queen's 20ps were still in use and remained legal tender. Cash use had also fallen so far that new coins were needed only to replace worn ones and meet the odd local shortage.
The 2023 coin is also the biggest change in the 20p's appearance since 2008. Alongside the new portrait, every everyday coin got a new reverse showing a plant or animal found in the United Kingdom, a deliberate move away from heraldry. For the 20p that meant an Atlantic puffin. With so few released, many people still haven't seen one in their change. That makes it the modern 20p people most want to find. The puffin sits on the same seven-sided coin that has been in use since 1982.
How to recognize it
Martin Jennings' portrait shows King Charles III uncrowned and facing left, the opposite way to the Queen's portraits, following the tradition that each new monarch faces the other way. The reverse shows an Atlantic puffin, the seabird known for its bright striped beak, in a design credited to the Royal Mint. The coin keeps the standard specifications: seven curved sides, 21.4 mm across, 5 g in weight and cupronickel with a plain edge. The same shape means it works in every machine built for the older coins, so nothing needed to be changed for it to circulate. The King's titles run around the portrait in abbreviated Latin.
The other side carries Martin Jennings' portrait of King Charles III, first used in 2022.
2023 20p by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2023 20p is the lowest of 41 20p dates and varieties from 1982 to 2023. The next more common is the 2008 Old Reverse 20p (11.9 million).
Compared with the dates around it, the 2023 output was 82 times fewer than 2022.
Over the 2020s the Mint produced 95.7 million 20p coins across 4 dates and varieties; the 2023 20p accounts for 0.5% of that.
What to check on your 2023 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 only 525,000 made for circulation, the 2023 puffin 20p is the scarcest circulating 20p date. It draws a collector premium, especially in uncirculated condition. Check the portrait first: if the head faces left, look at the reverse for the puffin. Keep any example you find in a holder, as sharp coins with a clean beak and feathers are what collectors want. A worn one is still a good find given how few reached change. Expect more to appear over time as older coins wear out and are replaced.
King Charles III and the puffin (2023)
Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 after a reign that covered the entire life of the 20p. Her son's coins arrived dated 2023 and brought the biggest change to the everyday designs since 2008. Martin Jennings modeled the new portrait. Following the old tradition that each monarch faces the opposite way to the one before, King Charles III looks to the left, where the Queen had always faced right. The reverses were redrawn as a set showing plants and animals found across the United Kingdom, a move away from the heraldry that had filled British coins for decades.
The 20p was given an Atlantic puffin, the seabird with a striped beak that nests on cliffs and islands around the British coast. The design is credited to the Royal Mint. Nothing else about the coin changed. It keeps the seven curved sides, the 21.4 mm size and the 5 g weight, in the same cupronickel alloy, so it works in every machine that takes the older coins. All the Queen's 20ps remain legal tender and the two portraits will share tills and purses for many years.
Only 525,000 of the 2023 puffin 20p were struck for circulation, a tiny figure next to the tens of millions made in most earlier years. There was little need for more. Billions of older 20ps were already in use and cash payments had fallen sharply, so new coins go out only as banks and shops ask for them. That makes the puffin coin hard to find in change for now. If you spot one, keep it. Look for one that has barely been handled, since sharp examples are what collectors are chasing.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 20 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2023 |
| Circulation mintage | 525,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (84% copper, 16% nickel) |
| Weight | 5.0 g |
| Diameter | 21.4 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Jennings |
Frequently asked questions
What is on the King Charles III 20p?
The reverse shows an Atlantic puffin and the obverse shows Martin Jennings' portrait of the King facing left. It was struck with the 2023 date and has the same size, weight and seven-sided shape as earlier 20ps.
Why is the 2023 20p so hard to find?
Only 525,000 were made for circulation. Billions of older 20ps are still in use and cash payments have fallen, so few new coins were needed. That makes it the lowest circulating 20p mintage so far.
Mintage figures: Twenty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.