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6 Pence - William III 3rd bust
| Issuer | The Royal Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1697-1701 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | GVLIELMVS· III·DEI·GRA (Translation: William the Third by the Grace of God) |
| Reverse description | Four crowned cruciform shields bearing the arms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland arranged in saltire formation, with a lion rampant at the centre in an escutcheon. The divided date appears in the angles above the uppermost shield, with ornamental decoration in the remaining angles varying by variety (plain, plumes, or roses). The circumferential Latin legend runs around the periphery, and the crown above each shield is of the later style known as the 'later harp' type. |
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| Additional information |
William III's sixpences of this period were struck at emergency branch mints — Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Norwich, and York — opened specifically to cope with the Great Recoinage of 1696, one of the most ambitious monetary operations in British history. The old hammered silver coinage had been so thoroughly clipped by the public that an estimated half the circulating silver was simply absent from the coins it was supposed to be in. Parliament authorized the recall and reminting of virtually the entire silver currency in under two years.
The branch mint pieces carry distinguishing mint marks and are scarcer than the London strikes. Chester and Bristol survivors in collectible grades are notably harder to locate than Norwich.