Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 9/7/2009

Question
Hi. I have here a small sizes coin, silver in color, and maybe a little bit smaller than a u.s.a. dime. On the front of it the words state 'VICTORIA DG  BRITANNIAR  REGINA  FD.  It has a womans head also on the front of it and is facing left. On the back of the coin it has the date of 1840, with a larger '3' and a crown above that, which is set in between the dates 18 and 40, and some kind of a wreath type lookingat the bottom of the coin. My question to you is could you please tell me what the name of this coin is, where it came from, and maybe a small ballpark range of what a coin like this would be worth.(?) Thankyou for your time.

Answer
Hi Jay,
You've got a British three-pence coin. These are .925 sterling silver and are quite a popular series for collectors. Yours is also a less common date, with a mintage of 630,000. A fairly worn, but decent coin starts at $5 or less. The price quickly jumps to $15-$25 for a lightly worn example, $100+ for a nice high grade piece and as high as $200 for an original uncirculated coin.
If you post a follow-up question with a picture I can give you a more exact value.
Thanks for the question! =)