3 Pence - George VI 2nd Maundy issue (1947–1948)

One row for each year the 3 Pence - George VI 2nd Maundy issue was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1947 3 Pence - George VI 2nd Maundy issue

The 1947 3 Pence - George VI 2nd Maundy issue is a collector 3 pence coin issued from 1947 to 1948 in the Maundy Money series, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 1.41g and measures 16mm across. Reverse design: Crowned denomination dividing date within oak wreath.

A mintage of 1,375 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held.

Common questions

History and design

From 1947 Britain's circulating silver coins were struck in cupro-nickel. Wikipedia, citing Lobel, explains that striking Maundy coins in base metal was felt to be inappropriate, so the Maundy standard was put back to .925 sterling silver after a quarter of a century at .500. Sovereign Rarities makes the same point: the full sterling standard was restored only to the Maundy money.

That makes the 1947 Maundy threepence an odd one out. Wikipedia's brass threepence article records that no brass threepences were struck with the date 1947, because the Royal Mint supplied that year's small demand from stock, and Tony Clayton notes that none were minted that year. The circulating silver threepence had ended with the 1944 date. The only British threepence dated 1947 is therefore this Maundy coin.

The obverse keeps Humphrey Paget's uncrowned portrait of George VI facing left, with HP below the truncation, and the 1937 legend GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP. The Indian title was dropped from the King's style in June 1948, but the coins changed only from 1 January 1949.

The reverse is a figure 3 with the date across it, encircled by an oak wreath surmounted by the Royal Crown, with a plain edge. Wikipedia attributes this layout to Jean Baptiste Merlen in 1822, with the crown altered in 1888 by Leonard Charles Wyon.

Collecting notes

CoinVarieties gives 1,491 for the 1948 threepence, citing Rayner and Bull, and observes that because most Maundy sets were kept carefully by their recipients they are easier to find than that figure suggests. The design is the same as the .500 silver 1937 to 1946 Maundy threepence, so the date is the only way to tell a sterling coin.

Maundy threepences come from the white purse given at the Royal Maundy, alongside the penny, twopence and fourpence. They remain legal tender, counted in new pence since 1971, but are not seen in change.