A ‘rare’ 20p coin has sold for more than 211 times its face value because it’s missing one important detail – and you could have one in your change.

The 2008 coin was sold for £42.30 on eBay this month.

The 20p piece, which features Queen Elizabeth II on the front and the Royal Shield of Arms on the reverse, was minted with a rare error.

According to The Royal Mint, an error that year resulted in many ‘mule’ or undated 20p coins accidentally entering circulation.

(Image: Kennedy News & Media)

The error is thought to have happened due to an incorrect pairing of the old and new coin designs.

The exact number affected mule coins is unknown but the Royal Mint say it is fewer than 250,000 coins out of the 136million they minted in 2008-09 – so while rare there are more out there to be found.

A spokesperson for The Royal Mint said: “In November 2008 a number of 20p coins were incorrectly minted, resulting in the coins being undated.

“This problem affected less than 250,000 coins of the 136million 20p pieces minted in 2008-09 and was due to the previous obverse (the ‘Heads’ side) being used with the new reverse (the ‘Tails’ side) design, meaning the year of issue did not feature at all.

“These coins remain legal tender and still have a face value of 20p.”

The listing description describes the 20p coin as ‘really rare’, with the error making its value skyrocket.

How to Get Your Old Coins Valued

One keen bidder paid plus £42.30 plus £2.70 postage to snap up the 20p piece on Wednesday March 11.

That means the coin was sold for more than 211 times its shop value and will be sure to have Brits checking their change for the same error.

First issued in 1982, the 20p is one of the UK’s newest circulating denominations.

Since then, there have been several different variations of the coin.

In 1998, the coin was updated to feature Maklouf’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse of the coin depicts a crowned Tudor double rose in a design by William Gardner.

In 2022, Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of the Queen was replaced by Jody Clark’s design.

Gardner’s reverse design featured on the 20p until 2008 when it was replaced by the definitive ‘shield’ design that currently appears on UK coins up to the value of 50p.

When united, and carefully arranged in the correct order, the 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p, make up the Royal Arms in its entirety.