London Company Giving Away 120,000 3 Pence Coins to Spark Interest in Collecting Hobby

To support interest in the coin collecting hobby, a British mail-order company is giving away about $1.3 million of historic silver King George V threepence coins.

The company, the London Mint Office, said it is giving away 120,000 of the coins, also known as a thruppence, dating back to 1911. The coins only cost buyers £2.50 (about $3.20 USD) in postage, according to the company’s website. They are available only to UK residents.

A 1935 Silver Great Britain 3 Pence like the ones The London Mint Office is giving away. They are 16.2 mm in diameter and weigh 1.4 grams.

The coins normally cost collectors about £8.50 (about $9 USD), according to the London Mint Office, meaning the giveaway will be worth more than £1 million (about $1.3 million) in total. Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®), a third-party coin grading service, offers a World Coin Price Guide that allows collectors to check on the value of coins like these in various conditions.

The threepence coin has been minted since the reign of Edward VI in 1551.

The London Mint Office also has hired a television actor who appears on a popular UK historical drama series, “Blackadder,” to help promote the coin-collecting hobby to younger people.

"There's something beautiful about having a tangible item that connects us to the wider world, especially in an age where we spend most of our time connecting online,” Tony Robinson told The Telegraph of London.

"I love the thought that owning an original George V silver threepence might inspire people of all ages to start a coin collection or dig deeper into Britain's rich history," Robinson told the newspaper.

Daniel Penney, managing director for The London Mint Office, told The Telegraph: "Technology plays such a big role in our lives today that it's easy to lose that physical connection with each other, so we hope the V silver threepence might inspire families to spend time together by starting their own coin collections, holding history in their hands."

To order one of the coins, go to londonmintoffice.org/silvercoin.

The London Mint Office is not associated with The Royal Mint. The company is an official distributor for several national mints, including the South African Mint, the Real Casa de la Moneda of Spain and the Royal Canadian Mint. It is part of the Samlerhuset Group, one of Europe's largest coin and medal companies, founded in 1994 and operating in 14 European countries.