Royal Mint to launch first-ever £20 coin

The new coin, which features the George and the Dragon design on the reverse. Picture: Royal Mint/Complimentary

A total of 250,000 of the limited edtion collectible silver coin will be struck to mark a momentous 2013, and will carry the classic St George and the Dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci, usually associated with the gold Sovereign, and most recently used to commemorate the birth of Prince George of Cambridge on a silver £5 crown.

Strictly limited to three per household, the new coins are available only from the Royal Mint website. Although legal tender, they will not be in general circulation for everyday use and are designed solely as collector items.

The Pistrucci-designed coin is the first in a series of £20 denomination coins which will be issued periodically by the Royal Mint to mark significant events and celebrate figures from British culture in the coming years.

Shane Bissett, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint said: “The Royal Mint has celebrated moments of national and cultural significance for over 1,000 years and, as a result, our commemorative coins are deemed very collectible.

“We wanted, however, to interest more people in coin collecting. We felt the way to do this was to create a brand new £20 denomination coin, that would spark public interest in the coins. It is a beautiful work of art and at a price more people can afford.”

He added: “This is the first time a coin featuring the classic St George and the Dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci has been available to buy for just £20. We hope this new £20 coin will spark a future love of coin collecting amongst young and old alike and a greater number of people get to appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into producing all of our nation’s coins.”