Guernsey 20 pence 1988 - Map of the Island

The coin's story

This 20 pence coin in the shape of a heptagon with curved sides, like that of the United Kingdom, shows on the reverse the map of the island of Guernsey at the centre of a cogwheel, engraved by Robert Elderton. The obverse combines Raphael Maklouf's crowned portrait of Elizabeth II, adopted in 1985, with the shield of Guernsey with three leopards. The Guernsey pound is not a separate currency but a local issue of the pound sterling, at par with it. In 1988, the Royal Mint struck only 5,000 pieces for circulation and 2,500 in proof, one of the lowest mintages of the type, struck from 1985 to 1997. In 1989, the mintage rose again to 93,000 pieces.