20 Cents - Elizabeth II Decimal Pattern (1961)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1961 |
| Denomination | 20 Cents |
| Face value | 20p |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 11.390g |
| Diameter | 28.5mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Young laureate bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, legend around
+ ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRATIA · REGINA
Standing figure of Britannia holding trident in right hand and shield in left, date below and denomination above
TWENTY CENTS
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 1961 20 Cents - Elizabeth II Decimal Pattern
The 1961 20 Cents - Elizabeth II Decimal Pattern is a collector 20 cents coin, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 11.39g and measures 28.5mm across. Reverse design: Standing figure of Britannia holding trident in right hand and shield in left, date below and denomination above.
Common questions
How much is the 1961 20 Cents - Elizabeth II Decimal Pattern worth?
No verified sale of the 1961 20 Cents - Elizabeth II Decimal Pattern has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
What is the 1961 twenty cents with Britannia?
It is a Royal Mint pattern for a decimal coin that was never adopted. The Royal Mint Museum holds examples dated 1961, struck in cupro-nickel at Tower Hill, showing the Queen's portrait on one side and a standing Britannia with TWENTY CENTS on the other.
Can I spend a 1961 twenty cents coin?
No. It was never legal tender. Britain went decimal in 1971 by dividing the pound into 100 new pence, so cents were never part of the currency and this pattern never left the trial stage.
Why is the twenty cents the same size as a florin?
No source found explains the choice. The Royal Mint Museum records the twenty cents at 11.35g and 11.4g, close to the florin's 11.31g. The florin was a tenth of a pound, and the later 10p was made to the same specification.
How do I identify the 1961 20 Cents - Elizabeth II Decimal Pattern?
Check the weight 11.39g and diameter 28.5mm and the metal (copper-nickel) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
This twenty cents belongs to a series of decimal patterns dated 1961 and struck by the Royal Mint at Tower Hill. The Royal Mint Museum holds several examples, recorded under the Royal Mint file reference 2/214/1 that its five and ten cents patterns also carry, along with one cent and fifty cents pieces of the same year.
Wikipedia records that the Halsbury Committee on decimal currency was appointed in 1961 and reported in 1963, and that the adoption of its proposals was announced on 1 March 1966. The scheme finally chosen kept the pound and divided it into 100 new pence, so no cents denomination ever reached circulation.
The reverse shows a standing figure of Britannia with the words TWENTY CENTS, according to the Royal Mint Museum. The obverse has a wreathed portrait of the Queen facing right and the legend + ELIZABETH · II · DEI · GRATIA · REGINA. The pieces are cupro-nickel with a milled edge.
The Museum's two examples weigh 11.35g and 11.4g. The Royal Mint gives the cupro-nickel florin of the period as 11.31g, so this pattern was made at much the same weight as the two shillings piece, which was itself a tenth of a pound.
Collecting notes
A pattern was a trial piece, and this one was never legal tender, so it does not turn up in change. No mintage or issue figure has been published in any source found, and the Royal Mint Museum's examples are the only ones documented here.
The other values of this 1961 series include the ten cents and the fifty cents, which the Royal Mint Museum records in silver with the edge inscription DECIMAL COINAGE PATTERN.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Elizabeth II pattern twenty cents, 1961 (RMM 3029), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II pattern twenty cents, 1961 (RMM 3030), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Decimal Day, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Florin (British coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- A Year to Remember: coins minted in 1953, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II pattern fifty cents, 1961 (RMM 3013), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)