The twenty pence (20p) ( ga, fiche pingin) coin was a subdivision of the

Irish pound The pound (Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin cir ...

. It was introduced on 30 October 1986. It was the first Irish decimal coin of a different size to the corresponding British coin, as the Irish pound had not been pegged to sterling since 1979. Its last issue was in 2000, two years before Ireland withdrew its pound for the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. It features the horse (an Irish Hunter) that was on the pre-decimal half-crown coin, that was produced from 1928 to 1967. The coin has a yellow-

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

colour due to its composition which is 79%

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, 20%

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

and 1%

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

, it was determined that this composition would reduce production costs by 25% as against

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

then used. The edge of the coin has six bands, alternately finished smooth and grained. The mass of the coin is 8.47

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

s, whilst the diameter is 2.71

centimetre 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the Metre and its deriveds scales. The Microwave are in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spellin ...

s. The coin was provided to relieve the expense of creating the lower value coins and also to assist the public and traders alike by creating higher value coin which could assist in the removal of some five and ten pence coins. In 1982 the

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

Ray MacSharry Ray MacSharry (born 29 April 1938) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from March 1982 to December 1982, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development from 1989 to 1993, Minister for Transport (Ireland ...

, announced that a twenty or twenty-five pence coin might be introduced. In August 1984 the twenty pence option was chosen; the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

recommended the horse design. The coin was worth of an Irish pound and was withdrawn with the advent of the

in 2002.

References

External links

Irish coinage website – catalogue – decimal twenty pence
{{Irish currency and coinage twenty pence (decimal coin) Twenty-cent coins