Introduction: The silver threepences of George V are very popular amongst collectors and are readily available in coin dealers’ bulk boxes, and at coin fairs, exhibitions and car boot sales. The first type (sterling issues) are much softer than their later (50% silver) counterparts and wear more easily, thus coins in the higher grades are…
Introduction: Queen Victoria’s predecessor, William IV, issued a short run of silver threepences (minted in London) for use in the British West Indies, where the British Administration was trying to increase its influence by introducing a strong currency based on ‘good silver’ in British denominations. Silver threepences continued to be minted for the West Indies…
Background: Edward VII’s reign was short and, from a numismatic viewpoint, relatively uneventful. He embarked on a goodwill tour (Royal Visit) of Ireland in 1902 and, despite the good press he received, Irish nationalism continued to grow. His bronze halfpennies were a continuation of Victorian designs, although the numbers minted were considerably higher than in…
Background: George V’s reign was a turbulent one for Ireland and a very exciting for Irish numismatics – the highlight being a new Irish currency in 1928. After independence, Ireland continued to use GB & Ireland coins and banknotes. Despite the popularity of the new Irish currency, the coinage of GB & Northern Ireland persisted…
Background: George VI’s reign included the economically disastrous Word War II which culminated in his overseeing the dismantling of the British Empire to the point where it had to be transformed into a weaker / less cohesive British Commonwealth. The biggest loss was the independence and breakup of India into three nation states – India,…
Background: Unlike the pennies of Elizabeth II, British trade & commerce demanded a constant production of halfpennies from 1953 forward. Production increased from approx. 9 million in 1953 to an average of c. 50 million per year by the 1960s. In preparation for decimalisation in 1971, 146 million halfpennies were minted in 1967. All of…
Background: In 1825, in the middle of the reign of King George IV, the long-planned “customs and monetary” union of Great Britain and Ireland was enacted. Prior to this date, no halfpennies were issued in the name of George IV, so his first copper halfpenny incorporated an Irish theme into the design, i.e. there is…
Background: By 1947, towards the end of George VI’s reign, silver British coinage was no more. Silver was just too valuable a commodity to waste on coinage and, with the break up of the British Empire now inevitable, there as no need to ‘pretend’ British sterling was the world’s foremost currency. Many other currencies were…
Background: By the end of George V’s reign the threepence had become unpopular in England because of its small size but it remained popular in Scotland. It was consequently decided to introduce a more substantial ‘thru’penny bit’ which would have a more convenient weight/value ratio than the silver coinage. The silver threepence continued to be…
Introduction: After the Great Recoinage of 1817 the silver threepence was primarily produced for the Maundy Ceremony. It was not until 1845, during the reign of Queen Victoria, that the threepence was struck for general circulation in Great Britain and Ireland. In the interim, a short run of silver threepences were minted in London for…
The Old Currency Exchange is a specialist dealer and valuer of Irish & GB coins, tokens and banknotes 