Pre-Decimal (1952-1971)

The threepence, pronounced thruppence, was a denomination of currency, used by various jurisdictions in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, until decimalisation of the pound sterling and Irish pound. more...

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Before decimalisation brought in a new penny and new, rather stiff pronunciations, the sum of three pence was usually pronounced either "thripp'nce", "thrupp'nce" or "threpp'nce", the distinction perhaps being geographical. Likewise, the coin was usually referred to in conversation as a "thripp'ny bit" (or a "thrupp'ny bit", etc.).

Early threepences

The Three Pence (3d) coin first appeared in the English coinage during the fine silver coinage of King Edward VI (1547-1553), when it formed part of a set of new denominations. Although it was an easy denomination to work with in the context of the old sterling coinage system, being a quarter of a shilling, initially it was not popular with the public who preferred the groat (four pence), hence the coin was not minted in the following two reigns.

Edward VI threepences were struck at the London and York mints. The obverse shows a front-facing bust of the king, with a rose to the left and the value numeral III to the right, surrounded by the legend EDWARD VI D G ANG FRA Z HIB REX. The reverse showed a long cross over the royal shield, surrounded by the legend (London mint) POSUI DEUM ADIUTOREM MEUM -- I have made God my helper -- or (York mint) CIVITAS EBORACI.

Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) produced threepences during her third coinage (1561-1577). Most 1561 issues are 21 mm in diameter, while later ones are 19 mm in diameter. These coins are identifiable from other denominations by the rose behind the queen's head on the obverse, and the date on the reverse. The obverse shows a left-facing crowned bust of the queen with a rose behind her, surrounded by the legend ELIZABETH D G ANG FR ET HIB REGINA, while the reverse shows shield over a long cross, dated 1561, surrounded by the legend POSUI DEU ADIUTOREM MEU. Dates used for the smaller coins were 1561-77. Threepences of the fourth coinage (1578-1582) are identical except for having a slightly lower silver content. There was also a fairly rare milled coinage threepence, produced between 1561 and 1564 with similar designs and inscriptions to the hammered coinage threepences.

The threepence denomination fell out of use again during the reign of King James I, while during Charles I's reign (1625-1649) they were not produced at the London Tower mint, but were produced (sometimes in some quantity) at various provincial mints. The denomination is identified by the numeral III appearing behind the kings' head.

Threepences reintroduced

By far the most common Charles I threepences were produced at the Aberystwyth mint between 1638 and 1642. They feature a left-facing crowned bust of the king with plumes in front of his face and the numeral III behind him, with the legend CAROLUS DG MA B FR ET H REX (or a combination of M(A) B F(R) ET H(I)(B) depending on the engraver), with the reverse showing the royal arms on a large oval shield with plumes above the shield, and the legend CHRISTO AUSPICE REGNO -- I reign under the auspices of Christ. Plumes were the identifying symbol of the Aberystwyth mint, but the Bristol and Oxford mints often used dies from the Aberystwyth mint so plumes often appear on their output too. Milled coins were produced at the York mint between 1638 and 1649, which look similar to the Aberystwyth product but without the plumes -- the obverse features left-facing crowned bust of the king with the numeral III behind him, with the legend CAROLUS D G MAG BR FR ET HI REX, with the reverse showing the royal arms on a shield over a cross, with EBOR over the shield and the legend CHRISTO AUSPICE REGNO.

Read more at Wikipedia.org