What is an Australian Threepence?

Answer 1

An Australian Threepence was a coin of silver appearance which was first minted in London in 1910 and last minted in Melbourne in 1964.

From 1910 to 1944, their composition was 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. They had a plain edge, weighed 1.41 grams and were 16 mm in diameter.

From 1947 to 1964, their composition was 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% zinc and 5% nickel. They had a plain edge, weighed 1.41 grams and were 16 mm in diameter.

All Australian Coins have the reigning Monarch on the obverse, and the Threepence had the Australian "Coat of Arms" on the reverse with the word THREEPENCE around the top and the year at the bottom from 1910 to 1936.

A new reverse design first issued in 1938 replaced the Australian "Coat of Arms" with three stalks of wheat with the year split either side of the stalks, Australia across the top and THREEPENCE across the bottom.

They were progressively withdrawn from circulation after the introduction of Decimal Currency on the 14th of February, 1966.

In modern currency, a Threepence was the equivalent of 2.5 cents, but there was no equivalent decimal coin.

There were no Threepences issued in 1913, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1937, 1945 and 1946.

The rarest Australian Threepence is the 1937 pattern coin and the 1915 and 1921/22 overdate, the 1912, 1923, 1942 (Melb) and 1947 coins are considered to be scarce.

From a coin collectors perspective, Australian Threepences, depending on year, condition and method of minting, can be worth anything from $1 to $200,000 AUD.

Please note that since the Threepence is part of a redundant or obsolete currency, it no longer has an "exchange rate" with other currencies.