The London Mint is giving away £1 million worth of ‘thruppences’ for free - here’s how to get one

A total of £1 million worth of historic coins are to be given out by the London Mint in a bid to stop coin collecting dying out in the digital age.

The 120,000 silver ‘thruppences’ are to be released from the mint’s vaults and given to people for free to generate interest in the collecting hobby.

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First introduced in 1551

Threepence pieces have been in circulation for nearly half a millennium, and were first introduced during the reign of King Edward VI in 1551.

The London Mint will be giving away coins dating back to 1911, during the reign of George V.

These coins usually sell to collectors for around £8.50, meaning the coins being given out will have a value of more than £1 million in total.

Blackadder star and history presenter, Tony Robinson, has been brought in as the face of the campaign to interest young people in coins.

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‘Bringing people together’

Robinson told The Telegraph, "It can seem like older and younger generations have nothing in common but it's so important for families to find a hobby together that can create quality time.

"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.

"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."

The thruppence was part of life in Britain throughout the Tudor, Elizabethan and Victorian eras, and stopped being used in 1970.

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Daniel Penney, managing director for The London Mint Office, said, "It has connected people from all walks of life for nearly 500 years and it's a wonderful symbol to connect current family generations together now.

"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 silver threepence pieces go to londonmintoffice.org/silvercoin, or call free on 08081 33 33 44.

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