Issued from 1937 onwards, the 12-sided threepence was Britain’s first official non-circular coin, and became known as a ‘thruppenny bit’. During the Second World War, a special auxiliary mint was set up at Pinewood Studios in London in case further bombing brought The Royal Mint’s main facility at Tower Hill to a standstill.

Did You Know?

• The threepenny piece first appeared as a silver coin in 1551
• The designer of the 12-sided nickel-brass threepence, Madge Kitchener, picked a thrift plant motif as she felt threepenny pieces represented thrift generally
• The 12-sided threepence weighed almost five times as much as its silver counterpart
• Initially unpopular, the coin’s distinctive shape came into its own during the blackouts of war as people could easily find the coin by touch