The farthing (derived from the Old English , a fourth part)Spink Numismatic Circular, March 1983, Volume XCI, No. 2, p. 39 was a British coin worth a quarter of an old penny ( of a pound sterling). This is the equivalent of around of a new penny. It ceased to be struck after 1956 and was demonetised from 1 January 1961.

The British farthing is a continuation of the English farthing, struck by English monarchs prior to the Act of Union 1707, which unified the crowns of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain. Only pattern farthings were struck under Queen Anne as there was a glut of farthings from previous reigns. The coin was struck intermittently under George I and George II, but by the reign of George III, counterfeits were so prevalent the Royal Mint ceased striking copper coinage after 1775. The next farthings were the first struck by steam power, in 1799 by Matthew Boulton at his Soho Mint under licence. Boulton coined more in 1806, and the Royal Mint resumed production in 1821. The farthing was struck fairly regularly under George IV and William IV. By then it carried a scaled-down version of the penny's design, and would continue to mirror the penny and halfpenny until after 1936.

Farthings were struck in most years of Queen Victoria's long reign. The coin continued to be issued in most years of the first half of the 20th century, and in 1937 it finally received its own reverse design, a wren. By the time the coin bore the portrait of Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1956, inflation had eroded its value. A fall in commercial demand also contributed to its demise.

Early issues (1714–1775)

The British farthing is a continuation of the farthing series begun in silver under the English king Henry III in the 13th century. Private individuals issued base metal farthing tokens as change in the 16th century, and in 1613, James I granted John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton, a monopoly to manufacture royal farthing tokens in copper bearing the king's name. In 1672, Charles II authorised the mint to produce the first copper farthing coins, and Britannia appeared on the coin for the first time.

Issuance of farthings had not been necessary during most of the reign of Queen Anne (1701–1714) because of a surplus of English farthings, which continued in circulation. But beginning in 1713, there was a shortage of copper coin (the halfpenny and farthing). The Royal Mint planned to issue farthings in 1714, but this was thwarted by the death of the Queen that year. The 1714 farthing, weighing 4.8–5.8 grams and of 21–22 millimetres diameter, is deemed a pattern. It contained about a farthing's worth of copper, as Sir Isaac Newton was Master of the Mint, and he believed coins should contain their value in metal. Some Anne farthings escaped into circulation, and there was a persistent and incorrect legend that they were of immensely high value. Britannia is said to bear the likeness of Queen Anne, and according to the numismatic writer Kerry Rodgers, "it was at this point that the blending of the female personification of Britain with the image of the reigning Queen takes firm hold." Newton had strong views about the quality of the coinage, and the Anne farthing displays advances, such as greater consistency in striking, over that of William III.

The need for a copper coinage was no less after the accession of King George I (1714–1727), but the Anne halfpennies and farthings (made with metal prepared at the Royal Mint) had failed tests for purity. It was not until 1717 that Newton tried to coin those two denominations again, this time from copper strip purchased from a contractor. The price of metal had risen, so the new farthings were lighter than the Anne coins, at 4.5–5.3 grams. The farthings struck in 1717 were smaller and thicker than the 1714 coins, with a diameter of 20–21 millimetres, and they are known as "dump" farthings. Farthings of 1719–1724 are slightly larger, at 22–23 millimetres, but are of the same weight. The coins were in high relief, and the Royal Mint had trouble transferring the design to the blanks, resulting in myriad flaws. The coin features the right-facing head of King George and the inscription GEORGIVS REX on the obverse, and for the reverse a design identical to that of the Anne farthings: Britannia with the inscription BRITANNIA and the date in the exergue below. Farthings were for sale at the Mint's premises at the Tower of London in packets of five and ten shillings; the Treasury refused to allocate funds for provincial distribution. The farthing's designs were by John Croker, possibly assisted by Johann Rudolph Ochs Sr, and were struck in every year from 1717 to 1724. The Mint had contracted for strip for seven years; when the contract ended, the coinage stopped.

George I died in 1727, the same year as Newton, and the king's son King George II succeeded to the throne, reigning until 1760. Croker engraved the new king's head for the coinage; the Britannia design was not changed. Farthings with Croker's design for George's head were minted in 1730–1737 and 1739. A bust showing an older king by John Sigismund Tanner was used on the farthing in 1741, 1744, 1746, 1749, 1750, and 1754, though the 1754 coin was probably minted at least until 1763. All George II farthings weighed 4.5–5.3 grams and had a diameter of 22–23 millimetres. Both obverses showed left-facing heads of King George and the inscription GEORGIVS II REX, and on the reverse, Britannia with the inscription BRITANNIA and the date in the exergue. The farthing was made in relatively small number compared to the halfpenny (struck every year from 1730 to 1754); in no year were even half as many farthings coined, and in most years, far fewer.

The 1754 stoppage was caused by a glut of coppers, and was done at the urgent request of merchants. Even then, a different problem—counterfeiting—had emerged. Lightweight counterfeit halfpennies and farthings (the penny was then made of silver) had been seen as early as 1725, and in the following decades, they became a flood. The laws at the time made counterfeiting copper coin merely a misdemeanour, punishable by a fine or a short term in gaol, while counterfeiting of gold and silver was dealt with severely. The counterfeits were especially prevalent in rural areas where regal issues, with no organised plan of distribution, were rarely seen. No farthings were coined after 1754, with the exception of 1754-dated later issues which may have been because of the Royal Mint using up stocks of copper. To make the counterfeiting uneconomical, in 1755 the Mint Board proposed reducing the value of the farthing to pence and the halfpenny to , but the Government refused.

The first halfpennies and farthings with the head of George II's grandson and successor, King George III (1760–1820), were issued in 1771, the year Parliament made it a felony to counterfeit copper coin. This had little effect; large quantities were melted down for lightweight imitations, though the farthing was less counterfeited than the halfpenny. This first series of George III farthings, struck in 1771 and 1773–1775, had a weight of 4.3–5.3 grams, with diameter 23–24 millimetres. The obverse, designed by Richard Yeo or Thomas Pingo depicts a right-facing bust of the king, with the inscription GEORGIVS III REX, while no significant change was made to the reverse. Despite the counterfeiting, the Mint ceased striking coppers in 1775 on the ground that there were sufficient legal farthings and halfpennies in commerce. The farthing would not be struck again by the Royal Mint until 1821.

Soho and renewed regal issues (1799–1837)

From 1775, most copper coins in circulation were counterfeit. The private sector eventually reacted, filling the gap with private tokens starting in 1787, and the Treasury awarded a contract to Matthew Boulton to strike copper coins in 1797. At his Soho Mint near Birmingham, Boulton produced the well-known Cartwheel pennies and twopences, so named for their appearance, the first official British coins struck by steam. The contract did not include producing farthings, though Boulton prepared several patterns. In 1799, Boulton was given a licence to produce halfpennies and farthings. In the meantime the price of copper had risen, and a more conventional coin was struck.

The 1799 farthing broke new ground in two areas: the reverse was inscribed , the first time the name of a denomination had ever appeared on an English or British coin, and it was also the first British coin to have the date on the same side as the monarch's head. The inscription on the obverse became , and the reverse depicts a redesigned left-facing seated Britannia holding a spray and spear, with the inscription . In 1806–1807 a further 22.5 tons (23 tonnes) of copper was struck into farthings by Boulton, but the price of copper had risen again and the weight was less than the 1799 issue. Farthings of the 1799 issue weigh , with a diameter , while the later Boulton issue weighs 4.7–4.8 grammes (0.17 oz) with a diameter . For the 1806–1807 issues, the denomination was removed from the coin, was abbreviated as , and the image of Britannia was slightly modified. Copper farthings and halfpennies from before 1797 were called in by proclamation dated 5 December 1817, and were redeemed by weight.

The currency was reformed in the 1810s with the Great Recoinage of 1816. The production of copper coins did not resume until after George III's death in 1820 and the accession of King George IV (1820–1830). Farthings were produced in 1821, Britannia maintaining her place on the reverse. These pieces were made current by a proclamation of 14 November of that year, that made them legal tender to sixpence. The original coinage portrait of the King, by Benedetto Pistrucci, attracted strong royal dislike, but was used on the farthing in 1821 and in 1823–26. By then, Pistrucci had been barred from work on the coinage for refusing to copy the work of another artist. William Wyon was given the task of engraving what became the more flattering "bare head" type of 1826. The issue of coppers in 1826 was because of the withdrawal of separate issues for Ireland; the Irish penny had been valued at of its British equivalent. The reverse was redesigned slightly, but remained more or less the same. The Pistrucci-designed farthings weighed , with a diameter of ; the later ones by Wyon (issued each year from 1826 to 1830) weighed with a diameter of 22 millimetres. Both Pistrucci's and Wyon's designs were produced in 1826. The Pistrucci obverse shows a left-facing bust of King George IV with the inscription GEORGIUS IIII DEI GRATIA, while the reverse shows a right-facing helmeted Britannia seated to the left of the coin, holding a shield and trident, with the inscription and the date in the exergue under Britannia. The Wyon obverse shows a laureate bust of King George IV, facing left, with the inscription GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA, while the reverse inscription is unchanged.

The death of King George in 1830 brought his brother, King William IV (1830–1837) to the throne. Wyon, by then Chief Engraver, left the reverse of the farthing unchanged, and for the obverse engraved a portrait of King William by Sir Francis Chantrey. The inscriptions were unchanged, except that (William IV) was substituted for on the obverse. The farthing was produced in 1831, and 1834–1837, the final issue being struck during the year of King William's death.

Victorian farthings