| Coin Type | Farthing (Britannia, fourth design) |
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The Farthing was a small circulating coin of the British pre-decimal Pound Sterling, equal to a quarter of a penny. Prices were never written in farthings though - something worth a farthing would be quoted as 1/4d ("d" being the abbreviation for "penny", from the Roman "denarius"). There were 20 shillings to a pound, 12 pence to a shilling and 4 farthings to a penny, so 960 of these coins made up £1.
The denomination continues the tradition of earlier farthing coins of Great Britain, which also featured the figure of Britannia. The bronze coins of bronze coins of these specifications replaced the larger copper farthings which were issued until 1860. The new, more durable, alloy was composed of 95 parts of copper, four of tin and one of zinc. Between 1860 and 1895, the farthing had the third Britannia design on the reverse, and Queen Victoria's "Bun Head" effigy. During 1895, the reverse was updated to this fourth Britannia design - which is a simplified version of the earlier design by Leonard Charles Wyon, and the obverse to the Queen's "Veiled Head" portrait (in 1895, farthings of the two types were issued). The coins of this type were issued until 1936, with obverses changing to King Edward VII and King George V accordingly. In 1937, the reverse was redesigned for the new issue of King George VI.
Farthings were demonetised before the rest of the pre-decimal currency. They ceased to be legal tender after 31 December 1960. |
| Obverse | |
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Effigy of the ruling British monarch, legend in Latin. During the existence of this coin type, pennies were issued for:
- Queen Victoria (1895 - 1901)
- King Edward VII (1902 - 1910)
- King George V (1911 - 1936) |
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| Obverse Inscription |
Legend of the ruling British monarch |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse of the coin shows, within a beaded border, the figure of Britannia - the female personification of Great Britain - seated facing right, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet pushed back to reveal her face and a flowing dress, resting her right hand on a shield bearing the combined crosses of the Union Flag, and holding a trident in her left hand.
Around left and right, the denomination FARTHING. In exergue, the date. |
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| Reverse Inscription |
FARTHING [year] |
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| Edge | Plain | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | The dies for this issue were engraved by George William de Saulles. The obverse is from a model by Thomas Brock, and the reverse is a modified copy of L. C. Wyon’s design with the lighthouse and ship eliminated. Most of the farthings dated 1897, and all those of subsequent dates up to and including 1917, were issued with a black finish so that they could be more readily distinguished from the half sovereign (which was of comparable dimensions and had the same obverse). The chemical method to achieve the darkening was by acid fumes; the usual result is to blacken them but on some coins the shades are from almost black down to light brown.
References to additional information:
[Book] Bressett, Kenneth E. 1962. A Guidebook of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Wisconsin, USA. pp18-20
[Book] Freeman, Michael J. 1970. The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain. Motherwell, Scotland. (2016 ed. pp127-132)
[Book] Remick, Jerome. 1971. The Guide Book and Catalogue to British Commonwealth Coins., pp192-193 |
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