20 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait (1985–1997)

One row for each year the 20 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1985 20 Pence - Elizabeth II

The 1985 20 Pence - Elizabeth II is a circulating 20 pence coin issued from 1985 to 1997, struck in copper-nickel (84% Cu, 16% Ni). It weighs 5g and measures 21.4mm across. Reverse design: Crowned Tudor rose dividing date and legend, denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 13 years between 1985 and 1997, 1,002,089,407 coins in all. 1986 is the scarcest date, with 167,224 struck.

Common questions

History and design

This is the second version of the 20p. The denomination had been introduced on 9 June 1982 to reduce the number of 10p coins in use, and for its first three years it carried Arnold Machin's portrait of the Queen. In 1985 Raphael Maklouf's portrait became the third effigy of the Queen on United Kingdom coinage, and the 20p changed with every other denomination. Nothing else about the coin was altered.

The Royal Mint's figures record twelve circulating dates for this type, from 74,273,699 in 1985 to 89,518,750 in 1997, and 1,001,922,183 coins in all. There is no entry for 1986: coins of that date were made for the year's collector sets only. The highest year is 1987 at 137,450,000 and the lowest is 1992 at 31,205,000.

Among all 20p dates in the Mint's data, only four have a lower figure than 1992, and all four are later issues (2008 with the old reverse, 2021, 2023 and 2025).

The reverse is William Gardner's crowned Tudor double rose, used on the 20p from 1982 to 2008. TWENTY PENCE and the date run around the rose with the figure 20 below, and the lettering is sunk into a raised border. The date is on the reverse, so the obverse has only the Queen's name and titles.

Maklouf's portrait shows the Queen wearing the Diamond Diadem made for the coronation of George IV in 1821, which the Royal Mint notes is worn on the journey to and from the State Opening of Parliament. The coin is a seven-sided equilateral curve heptagon with a plain edge.

Varieties and errors

Tony Clayton's reference records that the effigy was enhanced during 1992, becoming slightly larger. The Royal Mint's mintage figure for the year does not separate coins struck before and after the change, and published references do not say which is the scarcer.

Collecting notes

Every date of this type is still legal tender, and the coins circulate freely because the 20p has kept the same specification since 1982. The one date that should not be found in change is 1986, which Clayton lists as available only in Mint or Proof sets.

To sort a 20p into this type, look at the portrait rather than the reverse, which did not change. The Maklouf head wears the Diamond Diadem. The earlier 1982 to 1984 type has the Machin head with a tiara, and the later 1998 to 2008 type has Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait.