|
Michael Coins Ltd |
Other Lists
COIN CLUB
The extremely RARE 1945 Silver 3d
The picture of the above coin is of the rarest British silver threepence coin known. British silver 3ds in this size and weight were made from 1817 to 1945 with a diameter of 16 mm and a weight of 1.4138 grams and of 0.925 silver.
The 3d denomination was used for Maundy as well as currency purposes from Charles II (3rd hammered coinage -1662 !) and the milled series from 1670 to the present day. Its use as general British currency diminished
a few years after 1763. After the great re-coinage of 1816 the 3d was
made primarily for Maundy use with some dates from 1817 to 1833 for colonial use in the West Indies. In 1834 to 1844 currency silver 3d were struck for use in the West Indies but have become part of the British collecting series - as per the Groats [4d].
In 1845 silver 3d were struck for use as general currency in the UK and then continually from 1854 to 1941. The design of the reverse of the 3d remained the same for the Maundy 3d as well as the currency 3d until 1927 when the reverse of the currency 3d changed to three oak sprigs with acorns from the large crowned 3 design. In 1937 the reverse design again changed to the design, as shown above, a small shield on a rose.
In Britain the silver 3d stopped being produced at the end of 1941 for use as currency and the 1942 to 1944 silver 3ds were all shipped to the British West Indies. In 1937 the 12-sided nickel-brass coin was produced as the silver 3d was becoming unpopular and easily lost. Vending machine manufacturers could not use this light weight coin and this was the other reason for the Brass 3d to be produced.
A quantity of 371,000 1945 silver 3d were reported to have been struck however none were ever shipped to the British West Indies. In 1946 "The Coinage Act" was passed on 6 November ending centuries of British coins struck in silver or part silver. The vaults of the Royal Mint, The Bank of England and other banks were cleared over the years and all silver coins were melted back into ingots for possible future use. The fate of the mintage of the 1945 silver 3ds one can surmise was that all, but a few, were melted down.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Only two 1945 silver 3d have ever appeared for sale.
The first 1945 silver 3d was auctioned in April 1970 by Glendining & Co., a London auction house. The coin was graded at 'About Very Fine' and sold for £260.00. Where the coin came from in the first place is unknown. The coin has not resurfaced since and the buyer is also unknown.
The second 1945 silver 3d was found in a Whitman folder that had been owned, reportedly, by a relative who had a one time worked at the Royal Mint. The coin was removed from the folder and given to the grading company NGC for certification and grading. It was graded as Mint state 63. The coin was auctioned by Baldwin's of St James's on Wednesday, 25 March 2020. The estimate was £15,000 to £25,000 but on the day the hammer price was £50,000 plus buyer's premium at 20% & V.A.T at 20%. The total was...£62,000.00.
| Back to Silver 3d 2A |