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An error by the Royal Mint in Britain has seen the issue of tens of thousands of 'dateless' 20 pence coins -- driving their value up to 50 pounds (60 euros, 80 dollars) each, a collector said Monday.
There are believed to be between 50,000 and 200,000 of the coins, worth 24 euro cents or 33 US cents, in circulation, all of them missing the stamped 2009 date which was supposed to appear on the back of the coin.
It was the first time an undated coin has entered circulation in more than 300 years -- the last such error occurred in 1672 under the reign of Charles II.
Describing the mistake as "incredibly rare", the Royal Mint -- the institution responsible for making Britain's notes and coins -- said the error occurred last year during a redesign of every denomination of coin.
The old 20 pence coin had the date on the front of the coin, but the updated version was supposed to shift the date to the other side.
However, the coins were minted using an old version of the side of the coin featuring Queen Elizabeth II's head which does not carry the year.
The London Mint Office, a private company specialising in collectable coins which has no link to the Royal Mint, is now offering anyone who has one of the dateless coins the chance to cash in, and he is willing to pay up to 50 pounds.
Nick Hart, a spokesman for the London Mint Office, said: "Mistakes like this not only fascinate people but also have considerable value and increase the significance (of the coin)."
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(Agencies)
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一名收藏者于本周一稱，英國皇家鑄幣局近日釀成大錯，數萬枚20便士硬幣被漏印鑄造時間，這導致錯幣的身價飆升至每枚50英鎊（合60歐元或80美元）。
據稱，已有5萬至20萬枚錯幣流入市場，每枚價值24歐分或33美分。所有硬幣的背面均漏刻了鑄造年份2009年。
這是近300年來，漏印鑄造時間的硬幣首次流入市場，上次類似事件發生在英國國王查理二世在位的1672年。
英國皇家鑄幣局稱，這一錯誤“極其罕見，令人難以置信?！庇始诣T幣局負責制造英國的紙幣和硬幣，去年重新設計不同面額硬幣的式樣時犯下這個錯。
舊式20便士硬幣的鑄造日期印在硬幣正面，而新版本的硬幣本應將日期改印在硬幣背面。
而這批硬幣印制時，錯誤地使用了舊樣式，將英國女王伊麗莎白二世的頭像印了上去，而漏掉了鑄造年份。
私營的倫敦鑄幣公司專營硬幣收集，與英國皇家鑄幣局沒有任何關系。該公司正為錯幣持有者提供一條生財之道，硬幣收集價碼為最高每枚50英鎊。
倫敦鑄幣公司的發言人尼克?哈特說：“印錯硬幣不僅引起大眾的興趣，而且意義重大，還使錯幣更加珍貴。”
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（英語點津 實習生許雅寧編輯）
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