The 1947 Threepence was struck by the Melbourne Mint with a total
mintage
of 4,176,000. It was the first year that the threepence was issued with a lower than sterling silver content. The reduction
from 92.5% silver to 50% silver had occurred due to record highs in the prices of silver. In addition to reducing the profitability
of minting there were fears that the value of silver contained within the threepence could become less than the face value,
leading people to melt their coins down. Similar concerns had motivated the British to completely abandon silver and adopt
a cupro-nickel composition for their coins.
(Francis W. Hirst, 1947)
Despite the relatively low
mintage
compared to earlier years the 1947 threepence is still reasonably affordable and accessible across most grades. In MS65
and higher the year is more expensive than the high
mintage
1944-S and 1943-D although excessively so.
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