The English three halfpence, a silver coin worth 1?d, was introduced in Elizabeth I of England's third and fourth coinages (1561-1582) as part of a plan to produce large quantities of coins of varying denominations and high metal content. The obverse shows a left-facing bust of the queen, with a rose behind her, with the legend E D G ROSA SINE SPINA -- Elizabeth by the grace of God a rose without a thorn -- while the reverse shows the royal arms with the date above the arms and a mintmark at the beginning of the legend CIVITAS LONDON -- City of London, the Tower Mint.