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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Dayna McAlpine

Rare 20p coin sells for £90 with hundreds of thousands more in circulation

One of the UK's rarest 20p coins has just sold for a whopping £90 on eBay - and there could be one sitting in a change jar in your home.

The undated 20p became the first coin in over 300 years to enter circulation without a date and there are still a quarter of a million of the it in circulation according to the Royal Mint.

This mule coin came about when the new Royal Shield 20p coins were struck for circulation in 2008, with no date on the reverse - however a massive batch was accidentally issued with no date on either side of the coin, making it a super rare piece of change for those who find one.

On Tuesday, one lucky seller received £90 for theirs - some 450 times its original worth.

The seller, from Liverpool, listed the item as an "undated 20p coin" and said they preferred "collection in person".

Coin experts Change Checker said: "This coin is regarded by many as the Holy Grail of change collecting, and back in 2008, the undated 20p saga encouraged an entire country to start carefully checking their coins."

For anyone who thinks they might have a rare coin, check it's not a fake by verifying it with the Royal Mint to check it's the real deal.

A Royal Mint spokesperson said: “The Royal Mint can confirm a small number of new design 20p coins were incorrectly struck using the obverse from the previous design, as a result these coins bear no date.

“The issue was quickly resolved. The Royal Mint would like to assure the public that these are legal tender.”

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