The twenty cent coin was first introduced with decimal currency on 14 February 1966. The original reverse design of a platypus remained unchanged until 1995. This denomination has since been used for commemorative designs. All twenty cent coins in the first issue in. The Australian 20 cent coin is a versatile coin thats offered in many different designs and with decades of different minting years. With so many different coins to select from, its almost overwhelming trying to pick the style that is going to work best in your own collection.
20 Cent vs Quarter Sizes. The photos above show the relative size of the Twenty Cent coin (left) compared to that of a quarter. The coins are fairly similar in size, and both carry the Seated Liberty theme. The Twenty Cent coin had a plain edge compared to a reeded edge on the quarter, but this did little to differentiate the two. Detailed information about the coin 20 Cents, Victoria, Newfoundland, with pictures and collection and swap management: mintage, descriptions, metal, weight, size, value and other numismatic data.
The 20 Cent Piece is a twenty cent coin made by the United States Mint beginning in 1875 and ending in 1878, one of the shortest mintages in U.S. History.
The coin was made in an effort to export more silver as other countries at the time preferred a coin that was 20/100 denomination rather than the 25/100 denomination of the United States Quarter.
20 Cent Coin Worth
Even today, a lot of countries have coins that are 20/100 denomination rather than the quarter dollars that Americans are so familiar with, including Euro coinage.
The Twenty Cent Piece only saw production for general circulation the first 2 years of minting (1875-1876) with only proofs minted the remaining 2 years (1877-1878).
This twenty cent coin was causing a lot of confusion and was highly criticized because it was so similar to the quarter dollar also circulating at the time.
The Twenty Cent Piece and the quarter both had the Liberty Seated design on the obverse (front) of the coin and very similar eagle designs on the reverse. They also had very similar composition and size.
Citizens complained that it was necessary to read on the coin to determine whether they were holding a 20 or 25 cent coin without a side by side comparison of the two.
Twenty Cent Piece (1875-1878)
| Type | Liberty Seated Twenty Cent Piece |
| Designer | William Barber |
| Years Minted | 1875-1878 |
| Weight | 5 grams |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Diameter | 22 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mints | Philadelphia - no mint mark Carson City - CC San Francisco - S |
| Mintage | Philadelphia | Carson City - CC | San Francisco- S |
| 1875 | 36,910 (2790 proofs) | CC - 133,290 | S - 1,155,000 |
| 1876 | 14,640 (1260 proofs) | CC - 10,000 | S - 0 |
| 1877 | 0 (350 proofs) | CC - 0 | S - 0 |
| 1878 | 0 (600 proofs) | CC - 0 | S - 0 |
Most of the 10,000 20 cent pieces minted at the Carson City Mint in 1876 were melted down and never released into circulation.
It is estimated that only about 12 to 20 of them still exist.
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20 Cent Coin History
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