Catalog
3 Pence - George V
| Issuer | British West Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Reverse description | Central denomination numeral '3' above the word PENCE, together enclosed within a symmetrical wreath of laurel branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The legend BRITISH WEST AFRICA arcs across the upper field, while the date 1920 appears in the lower exergue beneath the wreath. The entire design is contained within a beaded inner border. |
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| Reverse lettering | BRITISH WEST AFRICA 3 PENCE 1920 |
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| Additional information |
British West Africa's silver threepence series was struck at multiple mints — London, Pretoria, and on occasion Heaton's Birmingham facility — with mint marks often the only means of distinguishing them. The 1920 issues were produced during the currency board's postwar transition, when demand for small-denomination silver across Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia was pressing enough to require multiple striking facilities simultaneously.
The .500 fineness adopted for this type represented a deliberate reduction from the earlier .925 standard, matching the contemporaneous debasement applied across British colonial coinage as silver prices spiked following World War I.