3 Pence - Anne 1st and 2nd busts, incl. Maundy

Anne's early silver coinage is inseparable from the Act of Union negotiations that dominated her first years on the throne. The 1703–1706 window predates the formal union with Scotland in 1707, meaning these pieces were struck under a monarchy still technically ruling two separate kingdoms. Parliament and the Treasury were simultaneously managing war finance for Marlborough's continental campaigns — Blenheim fell in 1704, Ramillies in 1706 — which kept pressure on silver supplies throughout the period.

The two-bust distinction within this type reflects an early correction to the portrait, not a routine update. Maundy use of this denomination was already customary by Anne's reign, and surviving examples in the finest grades frequently owe their condition to the ceremony rather than chance.