amaicans referred to the coin as a "quatty".
Minting errors reaching circulation
Coins with errors in the minting process that reach circulation are often seen as valuable items by coin collectors.
In June 2009 the Royal Mint estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 dateless 20 pence coins had entered circulation, the first undated British coin to enter circulation in more than 300 years. It resulted from the accidental combination of old and new face tooling in a production batch, creating what is known as a mule, following the 2008 redesign which moved the date from the reverse (tails) to the obverse (heads) side.
From a very early date, British coins have been inscribed with the name of the ruler of the kingdom in which they were produced, and a longer or shorter title, always in Latin; among the earliest distinctive English coins are the silver pennies of Offa of Mercia, which were inscribed with the legend OFFA REX "King Offa". As the legends became longer, words in the inscriptions were often abbreviated so that they could fit on the coin; identical legends have often been abbreviated in different ways depending upon the size and decoration of the coin. Inscriptions which go around the edge of the coin generally have started at the center of the top edge and proceeded in a clockwise direction. A very lengthy legend would be continued on the reverse side of the coin.
More recent legends include the following (the full unabbreviated text is given here):
- HENRICUS VII DEI GRATIA REX ANGLIAE & FRANCIAE "Henry VII by the Grace of God, King of England and France". France had been claimed by the English continuously since 1369.
- HENRICUS VIII DEI GRATIA REX ANGLIAE & FRANCIAE "Henry VIII by the Grace of God, King of England and France". The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.
- HENRICUS VIII DEI GRATIA ANGLIAE FRANCIAE & HIBERNIAE REX "Henry VIII by the Grace of God, Of England, France and Ireland, King". Henry VIII made Ireland a kingdom in 1541. The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.
- PHILIPPUS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA REX & REGINA "Philip and Mary by the Grace of God, King and Queen". The names of the realms were omitted from the coin for reasons of space.
- ELIZABETH DEI GRATIA ANGLIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REGINA "Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen".
- IACOBUS DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX "James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King". James, King of Scotland, by succeeding to the English throne united the two kingdoms in his person; he dubbed the combination of the two kingdoms "Great Britain" (the name of the whole island) though they remained legislatively distinct for more than a century afterwards.
- CAROLUS DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX "Charles, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King".
- OLIVARIUS DEI GRATIA REIPUBLICAE ANGLIAE SCOTIAE HIBERNIAE & CETERORUM PROTECTOR "Oliver, by the Grace of God, of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, Ireland etc., Protector". Cromwell ruled as a monarch but did not claim the title of king.
- CAROLUS II DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX "Charles II, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King".
- IACOBUS II DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX "James II, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King".
- GULIELMUS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX ET REGINA "William and Mary by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King and Queen". The spouses William and Mary ruled jointly.
- GULIELMUS III DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REX "William III by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King". William continued to rule alone after his wife's death.
- ANNA DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIBERNIAE REGINA "Anne by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Queen".
- GEORGIUS DEI GRATIA MAGNAE BRITANNIAE FRANCIAE ET HIB