threepenny bit

British  

/ -ənɪ, ˈθrɛp-, ˈθrʌpnɪ /

noun

1. a twelve-sided British coin of nickel-brass, valued at three old pence, obsolete since 1971

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

threepenny bit

The paper's lead story says the £1 coin is to be scrapped in favour of a new design "shaped like an old threepenny bit".

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2014

I especially loved the threepenny bit for its dodecagonal - 12-sided - weirdness, its brass and nickel sallow yellow gleam and the crowned portcullis on its back.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2010

Maria, however, insisted upon giving an old-fashioned threepenny bit, kept as a luck penny in the centre of her purse, in exchange.

From The Garden, You, and I by Wright, Mabel Osgood

There were nine half-pennies, three pennies, a threepenny bit and a sixpence.

From An Australian Lassie by Johnson, A.J. (Alfred J.)

He has a notion that the widow's mite was a threepenny bit, and feels that his gift is in a great tradition.

From The Pleasures of Ignorance by Lynd, Robert