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 reign¹ 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 denomination² 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)."

一名收藏者于本周一称，英国皇家铸币局近日酿成大错，数万枚20便士硬币被漏印铸造时间，这导致错币的身价飙升至每枚50英镑（合60欧元或80美元）。

据称，已有5万至20万枚错币流入市场，每枚价值24欧分或33美分。所有硬币的背面均漏刻了铸造年份2009年。

这是近300年来，漏印铸造时间的硬币首次流入市场，上次类似事件发生在英国国王查理二世在位的1672年。

英国皇家铸币局称，这一错误“极其罕见，令人难以置信。”英国皇家铸币局负责制造英国的纸币和硬币，去年重新设计不同面额硬币的式样时犯下这个错。

旧式20便士硬币的铸造日期印在硬币正面，而新版本的硬币本应将日期改印在硬币背面。

而这批硬币印制时，错误地使用了旧样式，将英国女王伊丽莎白二世的头像印了上去，而漏掉了铸造年份。

私营的伦敦铸币公司专营硬币收集，与英国皇家铸币局没有任何关系。该公司正为错币持有者提供一条生财之道，硬币收集价码为最高每枚50英镑。

伦敦铸币公司的发言人尼克•哈特说：“印错硬币不仅引起大众的兴趣，而且意义重大，还使错币更加珍贵。”

Vocabulary:

denomination：one of a series of kinds, values, or sizes, as in a system of currency or weights（面额）

cash in：赚钱，收货款