0.925 Fine Silver Sixpence

Up until 1920, sixpences were struck in 0.925 sterling silver.

Lucky Sixpences

A bride should carry a sixpence in her shoe on her wedding day so as it's said to bring good luck to the couple.

Another use of sixpences is to bake one into a Christmas pudding. It's thought to bring good luck to whoever finds it.

Reverse Designs

There were 3 different reverse designs for these coins. Your coin will be chosen at random. The designs are; the rampant lion, value in wreath, and the shield with garter.

The First Sixpence

The first sixpence was struck in the reign of Edward VI in 1551. His father, Henry VIII had debased the coinage thoroughly. Early in Edward's reign, it was planned to reform the coinage. In the last issue of his reign, coins with high silver content were issued, the sixpence being a new denomination. It may have been issued because some of the older base silver coins would have been trading at below their face value. The testoon, for example, may have been discounted to six pence, and it is likely that this was found to be a convenient denomination. It came to be popularly refered to as a 'Tanner' after the Romany Gypsy word 'tawno' meaning 'small thing'.

An Immediate Success

For whatever reason it was devised the sixpence proved to be popular, and it continued until decimalisation in 1971. The last sixpence minted for circulation was dated 1967, and a special proof version struck for inclusion in the farewell proof set of 1970. Indeed there was an energetic campaign during the late 1960's by a popular coin magazine, and also some of the major press to "save our sixpence". "S.O.S." car stickers were commonplace.

1887 "Withdrawn Type" Shield Sixpence

An interesting oversight was made in 1887 with the issue of the new coin types for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The half sovereign and the sixpence shared the same reverse design. It did not take long for some opportunists to realise that by gilding sixpences, they could easily be passed off as half sovereigns. This type with a quartered shield in garter was hastily withdrawn, and became known as the "withdrawn" type. A quick re-design took place, reverting to a design similar to the previous type, with the value "SIX PENCE" crowned within a wreath.

The Lion & The Crown

In 1911, the reverse type of the sixpence changed to a lion guardant on top of a crown. This design remained in use until 1926. A lion was probably the very first symbol to appear on any coin, apart from a mark of weight or value. This was about 640 B.C. on Greek coins issued in Lydia, now part of Turkey.

Obverse

The monarch and obverse design will vary.

Reverse

The reverse design will vary and be chosen at random. It will be one of the following:-

Wreath

The value in wreath appeared on sixpences up until 1911.

"SIX PENCE YEAR"

Shield

Only struck in 1887, this design was withdrawn due to it being the same as the half Sovereign. The coin shows a crowned shield with garter.

"HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE 1887"

Lion

The lion design was used on sixpences from 1911 - 1920. The design consists of a rampant lion on top of a crown with the inscription:

"FID DEF IND IMP YEAR SIXPENCE"

Specification

Variation	Diameter (mm)	Weight (grams)	Fineness	Silver Content
Pre - 1920	19.41	2.83	0.925 Silver	0.0842

2024 Christmas Opening Hours and Despatch Dates

General

Tuesday 24th December 2024 - Phone lines 9:30 - 14:00 (Last showroom appointment 12:00pm - Collections Only).
Wednesday 25th December 2024 - Wednesday 1st January 2025 - Closed (Urgent enquiries will still be answered during this time).
Thursday 2nd January 2025 - Normal Business Hours.
All orders placed between Friday 20th December 2024 and Wednesday 1st January 2025 will be despatched between 2nd - 5th January 2025.

Hatton Garden

Closed 20th December 2024 - 5th January 2025 inclusive.

Christmas Despatch 2024

Last despatch date for UKSTANDARD orders in time for Christmas – Monday 16th December.
Last despatch date for UKSPECIAL orders over £5,000 in time for Christmas – Thursday 19th December.
Last despatch date for UKSPECIAL orders below £5,000 in time for Christmas & UKSTANDARDS orders not in time for Christmas – Friday 20th December.

Internationals

Last despatch date for international orders in time for Christmas – Monday 2nd December.
Last despatch date for all internationals – Monday 16th December.

Distance Buy-Ins

Distance Buy Ins (DBI) – Last despatch date for DBI packaging – Packaging shipped out Monday 16th to arrive with customer Tuesday 17th to be collected by DPD Wednesday 18th to arrive with us Thursday 19th.

New Year

First despatch date in the New Year – Thursday 2nd January 2025.

Delivery Information

We aim to dispatch orders within 48 hours of receiving cleared funds. Our standard delivery methods are as follows.

Orders over £60 - Fully Insured Delivery.

Within the UK and BFPO - Next day fully insured and tracked. Delivery starts from £6.

Orders under £60

Within the UK and BFPO - Royal Mail 2nd Class. Your order will normally arrive within 2-3 working days. Delivery starts from £3.50.

If you wish to have your order sent by an alternative method (e.g., Saturday Guaranteed) please contact +441253343081 for more information. Please note, we will not dispatch high value orders over a bank holiday weekend.

For international delivery, please check with your local customs office for more information on custom duty and taxes.

Full delivery information can be found by clicking here.

Postal Insurance

We offer fully insured delivery on all special delivery options. We do need to pass on the cost of this insurance as it soon adds up shipping high value gold and silver products.

Orders under £1500 there is no additional fee.
Orders over £1500 we charge a fee in order to cover the increasing costs of insurance. For every £1500 we apply a £1 fee.

If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to call the showroom on +441253343081 and one of our team can discuss your purchase.

Terms of Sale - Key Points

You can find more information on payment and identification requirements.

Bullion coins are provided as is and on occasion may have some minor scratches or edge knocks. These are not regarded as faulty or damaged goods as their precious metal content and value as a bullion coin is not affected. Any coin sold for a value less than a 180% intrinsic is considered a bullion coin.

Gold investment products are VAT free. Silver investment products are inclusive of VAT at the current rate unless otherwise stated.

All investment products are based on the live precious metal price. Prices will be fixed once the item has been added to the basket and recalculates just before checking out.

If your product is not a graded coin and is considered a bullion item, it should be noted that these are bought and sold on low premiums over their precious metal content and not solely for aesthetic purposes; therefore, some products may have edge knocks and/or marks. These edge knocks and marks do not alter the specifications of the coins.

Please note that all investment products are exempt from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and therefore customers do not have the right to cancel their order once the order has been accepted. If customers no longer wish to go ahead with their investment purchase, there is an option to sell the products back to Chard (1964) Ltd instead. View our current buy back prices.

View our full Terms & Conditions.

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