1966 Wavy Baseline 20c graded AU53 by PCGS
In 1966 the 20 cent piece was minted in 2 different locations. About half of those coins were minted in Canberra and half in London at the Royal Mint in Birmingham. Of the 30 million coins minted in London just one of the dies that were used to press those coins was different, only slightly, but enough to make this coin unique and worth a great deal more.
The oddity is that one die had a small differing feature. This variety is in the base of the 2 of the 20 on the reverse of the coin. There is an upward curve in that baseline of the 2 often called a wave, thus the nickname the ‘wavy 20’ or ‘wavy baseline 20 cent’. You’ll also see a corresponding indentation in the water swirl above the wave. By comparison the normal reverse 20 cent has no wave in either the base of the 2 or the water above the baseline.
1966 Wavy Baseline 20c graded AU53 by PCGS
In 1966 the 20 cent piece was minted in 2 different locations. About half of those coins were minted in Canberra and half in London at the Royal Mint in Birmingham. Of the 30 million coins minted in London just one of the dies that were used to press those coins was different, only slightly, but enough to make this coin unique and worth a great deal more.
The oddity is that one die had a small differing feature. This variety is in the base of the 2 of the 20 on the reverse of the coin. There is an upward curve in that baseline of the 2 often called a wave, thus the nickname the ‘wavy 20’ or ‘wavy baseline 20 cent’. You’ll also see a corresponding indentation in the water swirl above the wave. By comparison the normal reverse 20 cent has no wave in either the base of the 2 or the water above the baseline.