£0.95
Category: Queen Elizabeth II Sixpences
- Description
- Additional information
Description
1964 Sixpence – Queen Eliabeth II, minted from Cupro/Nickel
The 1964 Sixpence – Queen Eliabeth II was a British silver coin that was first minted 1551 and virtually continuously until decimalisation in 1971. They are small coins, the last minted had a diameter of about 19.4 mm.
It was a popular coin when in circulation and is now popular with collectors as it has a long history and many nice specimens can be obtained at affordable prices. The Sixpence coin was often referred to as a ‘Tanner’.
Silver Sixpences (half a shilling) have been minted since 1551, in the reign of Edward VI, and were minted by every British Monarch since then. The sixpence originally appeared due to the debasem*nt of silver coinage prior to 1551.
By the mid and late 18th century when Britain was moving through an Industrial revolution there was a huge demand for silver coinage. The French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) made the silver and gold shortages even worse. The sixpence was so thin it could be bent by hand and so got the nickname of a ‘bender’.
In the Great Recoinage of 1816 the British Government made a massive attempt to stabilise the currency and the sixpence (with other silver coins) moved to a new standard – Sterling Silver, at 0.925 (92.5%) silver.
Sterling Silver remained the standard until the World Wars took their toll; the sixpence became 50% silver in 1920 and no silver at all in 1946. The coin then became cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). The last circulation sixpence was dated 1967, with a proof in 1970 just before decimalisation on 15 February 1971.
Why was it called a Tanner? No one knows for sure but a contender must be after John Sigismund Tanner (1705-1775), who was Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint during the reign of George II and was the designer of a sixpence. The other alternative may be the word derived from a Romany word ‘tawno’, meaning small thing.
A Quick Note About Denomination. Since decimalisation we (the UK) have £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence, but before decimalisation the breakdown was very different. While the Pound Sterling was the same, in the pre-Decimal era One Pound = 20 shillings = 240 pennies, or One shilling = 12 pennies.
So a 1964 Sixpence – Queen Eliabeth II is 6 (old) pennies or half a shilling. One fortieth of a pound. In today’s money it would be worth 2½ pence. Not much now, but in days gone by sixpence was a good amount of money.
Additional information
| Weight | 2.8 g |
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