History of the threepence

The threepence or threepenny bit was a denomination of currency used by various jurisdictions in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, valued at 1/80 of a pound or ¼ of a shilling until decimalisation of the pound sterling and Irish pound in 1971. It was also used in some parts of the British Empire (later known as the Commonwealth), notably Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Before decimalisation brought about a new currency with new coinage, the sum of three pence was pronounced variously /ˈθrʊpəns/ THROOP-ence, /ˈθrɛpəns/ THREPP-ence or /ˈθrʌpəns/ THRUPP-ence, reflecting different pronunciations in the various regions and nations of Great Britain. Likewise, the coin was usually referred to in conversation as a /ˈθrʊpni/ THROOP-nee, /ˈθrɛpni/ THREPP-nee or /ˈθrʌpni/ THRUPP-nee bit.

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