2004 Twenty Cent Small Head - PCGS MS65

Australia, 2004 Twenty Cent Small Head -

I know the catalogue says that the 2004 “large head” type twenty cent is rarer than the “small head” type, but I disagree. Think about it laterally. Most 2004 mint sets have the supposedly rarer large head type in it, which means there are tens of thousands Gem UNC 2004 twenty cent pieces with the large head around. Conversely, a bulk of the small head version, one of which is photographed above, was released into circulation, where they have stayed for almost ten years. I have never seen a 2004 small head twenty cent in a 2004 mint set and have never found an Uncirculated example in change. So the question remains: Just how many small head examples are left in Mint State? Well, I’ve been looking for a while now, and let me tell you, there aren’t many that would make a decent MS grade out there, even in dealer books. A lot of them appear to have been damaged during the security rolling process, while other examples described as “UNC” were clearly found in change and not UNC at all! The coin photographed above is only my second small head variety twenty cent in stock in the last two years, so don’t let the MS65 grading scare you: This is genuinely a high grade for this type, with only three pieces graded finer in PCGS MS66 (July 2013).