Common: 10,000,000 or more minted. Sells regularly: 21 verified sales in the last 12 months.
3 Pence - Elizabeth II 1st portrait with 'BRITT:OMN' (1953)
"threepenny bit"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1953 |
| Denomination | 3 Pence |
| Mintage | 30,618,000 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | 1971 |
| Composition | Nickel brass (79% Cu, 20% Zn, 1% Ni) |
| Weight | 6.800g |
| Diameter | 21.8mm |
| Thickness | 2.60mm |
| Shape | Dodecagonal (12-sided) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Mary Gillick |
| Rev. artist | William Gardner, William Maving Gardner |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Young laureate portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, legend around.
ELIZABETH II DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REGINA F: D:
A Tudor portcullis and side chains with crown above, dividing value, date below.
W G THREE 1953 PENCE
with 'BRITT:OMN' Threepence market value
Find this on eBay
Affiliatewith 'BRITT:OMN' Threepence price history
Daily limit reachedwith 'BRITT:OMN' Threepence value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £3.62 🔒 eBay | £3.62 | – | £1.69 – £10.00 | 3 | 3 | 26-09-2026 | |
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| VF | £1.61 🔒 eBay | £1.97 | – | £0.76 – £5.95 | 11 | 11 | 14-10-2026 | |
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| F | £0.99 🔒 eBay | £0.99 (1) | – | £0.99 – £0.99 | 1 | 1 | 02-07-2026 | |
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| MS-64 | £54.42 🔒 eBay | £54.42 (1) | – | £54.42 – £54.42 | 1 | 1 | 11-09-2026 | |
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| PR-65 | £3.78 🔒 eBay | £4.99 | – | £3.58 – £6.52 | 5 | 5 | 21-09-2026 | |
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About the 1953 3 Pence - Elizabeth II – with 'BRITT:OMN'
The 1953 3 Pence - Elizabeth II – with 'BRITT:OMN' is a circulating 3 pence coin, struck in nickel brass (79% Cu, 20% Zn, 1% Ni). It weighs 6.8g and measures 21.8mm across. Reverse design: A Tudor portcullis and side chains with crown above, dividing value, date below.
30,618,000 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1971), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1953 3 Pence - Elizabeth II – with 'BRITT:OMN' worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1953 3 Pence - Elizabeth II – with 'BRITT:OMN' run from £0.99 to £54.42 across 5 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many 1953 threepences were made?
Coin Hunter and CoinVarieties both record 30,618,000 brass threepences dated 1953 for circulation. CoinVarieties adds that 40,000 proof sets were made and sold the same year, each containing a proof threepence, so proofs of this date are far more common than those of later years.
Why is 1953 different from later Elizabeth II threepences?
The 1953 coin carries BRITT: OMN: (of all the Britains) in the Queen's title, as set out in the November 1952 proclamation. The words were dropped from 1954, and Tony Clayton notes the portrait was also strengthened that year, so 1953 is a one-year type.
Is the 1953 threepence still legal tender?
No. After decimalisation on 15 February 1971 the brass threepence had no place in the new system, and it ceased to be legal tender after 31 August 1971, when the Royal Mint Museum notes the transitional period was brought to an end.
Who designed the 1953 threepence?
The Royal Mint credits Mary Gillick with the portrait of the Queen and William Gardner with the reverse. The proclamation describes the reverse as a portcullis with chains, ensigned with a royal coronet, a badge of King Henry VII.
How do I identify the 1953 3 Pence - Elizabeth II – with 'BRITT:OMN'?
Check the weight 6.8g and diameter 21.8mm and the metal (nickel brass (79% Cu, 20% Zn, 1% Ni)) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The Royal Mint describes the brass threepence as the first coin to bear the portrait of the Queen. Wikipedia, citing Coincraft's catalogue, records that the new coins appeared first in a plastic set containing all the circulating denominations, with the circulating threepence and the proof set following later in 1953.
The new designs were fixed by a proclamation of 25 November 1952, which came into force on 1 January 1953. The coin kept the twelve-sided shape and dimensions of the George VI piece. Two collector references, Coin Hunter and CoinVarieties, both give 30,618,000 coins dated 1953 for circulation, and CoinVarieties notes that 40,000 proof sets were made and sold that year.
The reverse, credited by the Royal Mint to William Gardner, is described in the proclamation as a portcullis with chains, ensigned with a royal coronet, a badge of King Henry VII, with the date between the words THREE and PENCE. Wikipedia notes that this angular design, in keeping with the coin's angular edge, was a complete change from the curved floral reverse of George VI.
The obverse carries Mary Gillick's wreathed portrait of the Queen. The 1953 inscription is ELIZABETH II DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REGINA F: D:, the BRITT: OMN: standing for "of all the Britains". Those words were removed for 1954, which makes this the only date of its type. The edge is plain.
Varieties and errors
Tony Clayton records that the threepences issued in the 1953 plastic sets differ slightly from those released later in the year for general circulation, and from the coin in the proof set. He also notes that the portrait was strengthened when the legend changed in 1954.
Collecting notes
Proofs of this date are far easier to find than for any later year of the reign, because of the 40,000 proof sets. CoinVarieties stresses that proofs of the rest of the 1950s are all rare.
The brass threepence ceased to be legal tender after 31 August 1971, and the Royal Mint Museum records that pennies and threepenny bits had all but disappeared within a couple of weeks of Decimal Day. None will be met in change now.
Check the legend first: BRITT OMN behind the portrait marks a 1953 coin. From 1954 the coin continued as the later threepence type, struck to 1967 with a proof-only 1970. Maundy threepences of the same year are small silver coins with a crowned 3, catalogued separately as the 1953 Maundy threepence.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- The Threepence Through Change, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining new designs for gold, silver, cupro-nickel, mixed metal and bronze coins, London Gazette issue 39703, pages 6213 to 6214, The London Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Brass threepence, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Threepence (British coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1953 Threepence, Coin Hunter (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1953 3 pence KM-886, CoinVarieties (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Coins of the UK: Three Pence, Tony Clayton (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Decimalisation, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
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