The sixpence was a silver coin minted in england from the 1500s until the 1960s and was worth six pennies by the end of the 17th century it became customary for a brides parents to present a sixpence as a dowry gift to her groom according to tradition if a bride carries a sixpence along with four other lucky items with her on her wedding day she and her groom will live happily ever after these items symbolize prosperity of the past optimism for future borrowed good fortune from a happil