National Archives 1985: 20p coin blunder proved lucrative for some

Plans to introduce a distinctive new 20p coin were shelved after it left consumers short-changed — a blunder which has turned out to be lucrative for some.

In 1985, the Central Bank’s original design for a ‘fiche pingin’ was tested in old phone boxes, parking meters and coin counters and found to be too easily confused with the tuppenny piece already in circulation.

State papers from the Department of the Taoiseach have revealed that a batch of the proposed new coins was produced by the Royal Mint in Britain and delivered to Ireland at the end of February that year. But the introduction of the new coin was pulled four months later after the tests were failed.