Coin

½ Reul = 3 Pence (1939) — Ireland

Ireland • 1939 • KM# 12, Sp# 6637

Overview

Pre-Decimal Irish 3 Pence coin from 1939.

Specifications

Country: Ireland
Year: 1939
Composition: Nickel
Weight: 3.24 g
Diameter: 17.6 mm
Thickness: 1.72 mm
Mint: Royal Mint (Tower Hill), London, United Kingdom
Shape: Round
Technique: Milled
References: KM# 12, Sp# 6637
Issuer: Ireland

Design details

Obverse

Irish harp with the country name to the left and the date to the right.

Reverse

Seated hare, facing left with the words leat & reul 3d

Collector insights

Wartime issue: Struck during the Second World War, when many mints substituted base metals (zinc, steel, low-fineness alloys) for copper and nickel diverted to munitions. Surviving high-grade examples are disproportionately scarce.
Design heritage: Percy Metcalfe is credited as the designer for the Pre Decimal 1939-1969 series. Designer attribution helps distinguish this issue from later restrikes or unofficial copies that reuse only the motif.
Struck at: Royal Mint (Tower Hill), London, United Kingdom. Confirm the mintmark on your example before comparing prices — same-year issues from different mints often trade at very different levels.
Low mintage: Only 64,000 pieces reported. This puts the issue into key-date territory for its series; expect steep grade-based price scaling and a higher counterfeit risk — provenance and third-party grading matter.
Catalogue reference: Listed as KM# 12, Sp# 6637. Use this reference code when cross-checking auction archives, dealer inventories, and standard printed catalogues.

Curator Insights

Historical context

Issued during the transition of the Irish Free State into Ireland under the 1937 Constitution, this 1939 threepence represents a brief nickel-alloy window before wartime metal shortages began. The coin belongs to the distinct pre-decimal currency system that saw the Irish Pound pegged to the British Pound Sterling until 1971. This year marked the beginning of a two-year production cycle for the nickel composition before a switch to cupro-nickel.

Design heritage

The motifs were created by English sculptor Percy Metcalfe, who designed the entire 1928 Irish coinage series featuring native fauna. The obverse depicts the Cláirseach, a traditional Irish harp, while the reverse features a seated hare based on the Lepus timidus hibernicus. The denomination is inscribed as leat reul, meaning half-reul, representing the coin's three-pence value within the system.

Varieties and technical notes

This issue was struck at the Royal Mint in London and features a plain, smooth edge and round shape. Collectors should examine the strike quality of the hare's ears and the harp strings, as these are the high points most susceptible to weak definition during the milling process. No major recognized die varieties exist for this specific year, so focus remains on technical preservation and strike sharpness.

Survival and modern availability

With a mintage of only 64,000, the 1939 issue is significantly scarcer than later cupro-nickel versions of the threepence. Many pieces seen today exhibit heavy circulation wear due to their prolonged use in the Irish economy until demonetization. High-grade specimens are difficult to source as many were withdrawn or lost during the transition to decimalization and subsequent metal recycling programs.

Other ½ Reul = 3 Pence issues

Explore more

Browse more items in the full catalog or view Ireland in the country guide.