The threepence ( ) or 3d

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

was a subdivision of the pre-decimal

Irish pound The pound ( Irish: ) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or £Ir for distinction.) The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin circulation unti ...

, worth of a pound or of a

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

. literally means "half ", the being a sixpence coin worth about the same as the Spanish (a quarter of a peseta). Unlike other Irish coins it did not resemble its British counterpart. Originally it was struck in

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

and was very hard-wearing. In 1942, as nickel became more costly, the metal was changed to

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper–nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper with nickel, usually along with small quantities of other metals added for strength, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a n ...

of 75%

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and 25% nickel. The coin measured in diameter and weighed ; this did not change with the cupro-nickel coin. The coin was minted at the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

starting from 1928, and ceased to be legal tender after

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by Power of 10, powers of 10. Most countries have ...

on 31 December 1971. Ireland did not adopt the brass dodecagonal threepenny coin that the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

used between 1937 and 1971. The reverse design featuring an

Irish hare ''Lepus timidus hibernicus'', more commonly known as the Irish hare, is a subspecies of the mountain hare (''Lepus timidus'') that is native to the island of Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic ...

was by English artist

Percy Metcalfe Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI (14 January 1895 Wakefield – 9 October 1970 Fulham Hospital, Hammersmith, London), (often spelled ''Metcalf'' without "e") was an English artist, sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs ...

. The obverse featured the

Irish harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gr ...

. From 1928 to 1937 the date was split either side of the harp with the name circling around. From 1938 to 1969 the inscription changed to on the left of the harp and the date on the right. In 1990 it was announced that the decimal two-pence coin would be redesigned to incorporate the hare from the threepence, but this plan was abandoned in the face of the imminent adoption of the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

References

External links

Coinage Act, 1926Irish Coinage website - catalogue - threepence
three-pence coin {{coin-stub

See also

References

External links