1942 Threepence

Description

1942 King George VI Threepence

This 1942 King George VI Threepence is made from brass and features a multisided design.

The United Kingdom threepence or 3d coin was known as the threepence or threepenny bit (pronounced “thrupenny”).

Over the year the design of the coin has changed since the reign of Elizabeth I through silver coins to the latter day brass hexadecimal shaped coin that was used prior to decimilisation.

By the end of King George V’s reign the small silver 3d had fallen out of favour because of its small size and a decision to replace it was made to better reflect the size/weight to value ratio and so the multi-sided threepence was created. The original small silver threepence was still minted and the two coins overlapped in production just in case the “new” coin was not well received.

Originally this carried a three headed thrift plant on the reverse whilst King George VI head, facing left was on the obverse side. When Elizabeth II came to the throne the design of the coin changed to its final design that was a portcullis on the reverse whilst the head of Queen Elizabeth II was on the obverse.

The final year in which the threepence was minted was 1967 and this has now been subsequently replaced by the current decimal coinage although there is no coin that directly replaces the threepence that has a current face value of 1.25 pence

Some years of these coins are rarer than other and in particular both 1946 and 1949 are amongst the rarest years.

A threepence was valued at three pennies when pre decimal currency was in use and this equated to a quarter of a shilling as there were twelve pennies to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound. Two threepenny bits equalled one sixpence or “tanner”