UK coinage .. I have a BROWN brass 3D 1937 ..any ideas?

Question

I am tempted to polish it, as it could just be a dye ... but my mate says not to...and as far as I'm aware, none of the brass 3d's actually faded like pennies did. It weighs the same as any other 1937 3d and is the same size. Does anyone recognise the brown colouring ..? should I scratch it..?

Answer 1

leave it in a glass of coke overnight you'll have better idea

not worth much

Answer 2

no

Answer 3

You should not do anything with it, it might affect its collector value. Besides which it is against the law to deface coin of the realm.

I'm not completely sure, but some time if the 30's the Royal Mint went from traditional coinage metals to coloured cupro-nickel. Today, most coinage, throughout the world, is made from a cupro-nickel bye-product of metal purification. It had no use until it was realised that it is resistant to corrosion from body fats.

Threepenny bits were originally struck from silver. There was a transitional metal used before the introduction of cupro-nickel.

My Granny used to save the silver threepenny bits, when she was a young woman. She used to dole them out to me, one per week, in the late 40's. I would spend them in the local sweet shop, where I would get SIXPENCE worth of sweets for the threepence!