In the English wedding rhyme, a sixpence is traditionally placed in the bride’s shoe for prosperity.
The practice belongs to the rhyme “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in her shoe.” The sixpence represents wishes for wealth and financial good fortune in the marriage. Families may use an actual historic sixpence, a replica, or a specially made wedding token.
The sixpence was a British coin worth six old pence. Britain’s pre-decimal currency was replaced in 1971, so sixpences are no longer everyday legal-tender coins in modern Britain, although collectible examples remain popular for wedding customs.
The rhyme is often shortened today, leaving out the final line about the shoe. The sixpence tradition is also separate from the bride’s “something blue,” which is commonly associated with fidelity, purity, or protection depending on the interpretation.