rest, and as nickel-brass wears very quickly, higher grade specimens of these coins are expensive to buy now (both over £500 for uncirculated examples). The scarce dates are 1948, 1950 and 1951 and these are now selling for £60 – £80 in mint state. Elizabeth II threepences The physical dimensions of the brass threepence remained the same in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The effigy of the queen produced by Mary Gillick was used, with the inscription used in 1953, and used in all other years. The reverse shows a Tudor portcullis with chains and a coronet, with the inscription . This coin was produced in all years from 1953 to 1967, and in 1970 (in proof sets only). Following decimalisation, the brass threepence ceased to be legal tender after 31 August 1971. The Commonwealth A three pence coin was also used in the pre-decimalisation currencies of Commonwealth of Nations countries such as Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand. It was called a tickey in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Building No. 1 Croydon was known for many years as the "threepenny bit building" for its resemblance to a stack of threepenny coins. After the coins were phased out (beginning in 1970) the building eventually gained a new nickname: the "50p building". The 12-sided coin reprised In March 2014, the Royal Mint announced that a new design of one pound coin will be introduced in 2017, reprising the twelve-sided shape. The new coin is designed to be more difficult to counterfeit. See also Irish three-pence coin Australian pound New Zealand pound References External links British Coins – Free information about British coins. Includes an online forum. History of the Threepence History of British coinage Pre-decimalisation coins of the United Kingdom