United Kingdom (Great Britain) George VI 3 Pence

History

3 Pence 1937-1945, KM# 848, United Kingdom (Great Britain), George VI

Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com

Description

The British threepence (3d) coin, usually simply known as a threepence or threepenny bit, was a unit of currency equaling one eightieth of a pound sterling, or three old pence sterling. It was used in the United Kingdom, and earlier in Great Britain and England. Similar denominations were later used throughout the British Empire, notably in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

George VI (1895–1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth.

As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. George's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936. However, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman and remain king. Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor.

Obverse	Person (king, queen, tsar etc.) George VI Bare head of the King George VI facing left. The legend is an abbreviated translation of “George VI by the Grace of God, King of all the Britains”. Engraver: Thomas Humphrey Paget GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX HP
Reverse	Symbol, amulet, talisman Tudor rose, Saint George's Cross Depicts Saint George's Cross on a Tudor rose. The date is divided to either side of the main design, with the legend above and value below. The legend is an abbreviated translation of “Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India”. Saint George's Cross is a red cross on a white background. The flag of England is derived from St George's Cross. The association of the red cross as an emblem of England can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it was used as a component in the design of the Union Flag in 1606. The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty. When Henry VII took the crown of England from Richard III in battle (1485), he brought the end of the retrospectively dubbed "Wars of the Roses" between the House of Lancaster (one monarch of which had sometimes used the badge of a red or gold rose) and the House of York (which had lately used a white-rose badge). Henry's father was Edmund Tudor from the House of Richmond (maternally), and his mother was Margaret Beaufort from the House of Lancaster; in January 1486 he married Elizabeth of York to bring all factions together. (In battle, Richard III fought under the banner of the boar, and Henry under the banner of the dragon of his native Wales.) The white rose versus red rose juxtaposition was Henry's invention. Engraver: George Edward Kruger Gray FID:DEF:IND:IMP 19 41 K·G THREE·PENCE
Edge	Plain