Collectors Corner^SM: The Collectibles Marketplace

Great Britain struck its last circulating sixpence coins in 1967. Click image to enlarge.

Even some six decades after the last circulating sixpence coins rolled off the presses at the Royal Mint in Great Britain, the allure of the denomination maintains a stronghold in pop culture and society. The sixpence, which was first struck in 1551, was a mainstay in Britain’s monetary system until the last circulating pieces were issued in 1967; the coin served as legal tender in Britain until June 30, 1980.

What brought about the end of the sixpence coin? One might say it wasn’t exactly an overnight decision. After centuries in circulation, the sixpence and its many pre-decimal kin – including the farthings, shillings, florin, and other denominations – had their fate sealed in 1966, when Britain moved to decimalize its monetary system. The changes, which were based on making the pound as the nation’s monetary unit and pence as the 100 fractions thereof, occurred over a period of years.

The last circulating sixpence coins in 1967 were struck to the tune of 240,788,000 pieces, exceeding by many millions the previous production-related highwater mark for the denomination. However, the last proof issues were not emitted until 1970, when 750,476 were struck for collectors. As the sixpence slowly disappeared from circulation in the 1970s and early 1980s, the coin itself never lost its luster with the public.

Sixpence have principally been seen as a symbol for good luck, with many cooking the coin in Christmas puddings only to be found by the lucky diner who plucked the coin from their bowl. Then there is the enduring tradition for new brides who wear, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe,” the coin serving as a talisman promising marital prosperity, love, and happiness.

Since World War II, Royal Air Force crew have sewn the sixpence behind their wings and brevets as a good luck amulet. Sixpence coins have also been referenced in a number of poems, stories, and songs; even the 1990s American alternative rock band Sixpence None the Richer borrowed the name of the now-obsolete coin for their stage moniker. It just goes to show that even decades after its demise, the sixpence lives on, if not in circulation then in the hearts and minds of countless throughout Britain and around the world.