Metal detecting holidays in England with the World's most successful metal detecting club.

Twinned with Midwest Historical Research Society USA

 

English Base Metal Coins

 

From 1672, a good quality regal copper coinage of farthings and halfpennies was produced for Charles II. These featured Britannia as a reverse design. The first time Britannia had been used on British coins. Previously Britannia had only appeared on Roman coins alluding to Britain.

 

Tin Coinage


Still under Charles II, tin farthings were produced in 1684 and 1685, to help the Cornish tin industry. These were made with a small plug of copper, and using a design similar to the copper issue, except that the date appears on the edge of the coin, which also carries the inscription NUMMORUM FAMULUS.

Tin Continued


Tin continued to be used for farthings under James II, when tin halfpennies were also produced, and also under William and Mary until 1692.

 


Return to copper

A copper farthing was once again issued in 1694 under William and Mary. Farthings continued to be produced incopper until 1860.

The Famous Queen Anne Farthing


No copper coins were produced during Anne's reign, 1702 to 1714, except for farthings during the last year 1714. For some reason, public awareness focussed on the scarcity of Queen Anne farthings in a similar manner to the recent "necklace £2" rumour. Although Anne farthings are scarce, they were never as rare as imagined by popular opinion at the time, although much was written about them.

 


Soho Mint

Matthew Boulton produced "cartwheel" twopences and pennies in 1797, at the Soho mint in Birmingham, and large heavy farthings from 1799. Boulton and Watt could produce low value coins, with a high intrinsic metal content, profitably because of their adoption of steam powered machinery.

 


From copper to Bronze

From 1860, farthings, along with pennies and halfpennies, were reduced in size and produced in bronze, which is more hard-wearing. This change would have been facilitated by the availability of higher quality and harder-wearing steel dies. During all this time, Britannia continued to be the only design used on the reverse of farthings, and this continued until the last issues of George V in 1936.

 


The Wren replaces Britannia

From the first farthings of George VI in 1937 to the very last farthing of 1956 during the reign of Elizabeth II, the wren, Britain's smallest bird, continued to be used on the farthing, Britain's smallest and lowest valued coin. Actually the wren is not Britain's smallest bird as the goldcrest and firecrest are both smaller, but then again, half third and quarter farthings were all smaller than farthings. When the wren farthing was introduced, popular knowledge of birds was less developed than now, so the error was fairly understandable.
Britannia continued to be used on the halfpenny.

 


The last farthing

The very last date of farthing to be issued was 1956, and the farthing was demonetised shortly after, at the end of 1960.
Farthings had survived for over 677 years. They had been a popular coin, and are still fondly remembered by many.
Farthings were often used in "just under" pricing such as £4.19.1134d., or 4s.1134d., instead of £5 or 5 shillings respectively.

 


Even Smaller than farthings - half farthings

Although there were 960 farthings to the pound sterling, which sounds difficult to imagine nowadays, there were, in fact coins smaller than farthings.
Fractional farthings were issued from 1839. Copper half farthings, 1920 to the pound, were used in Britain, and also in many Colonial countries where lower denomination coins were needed.
They were issued from 1839 to 1856, and their reverse design was the inscription "HALF FARTHING" in two lines, with a crown above.
If most people are fascinated to learn that half farthings were ever produced, they would be even more surprised to discover that there were also quarter and third farthings!

 


Quarter farthings

Copper quarter farthings, incredible as it may seem to have needed coins worth 3840 to the pound, were produced from 1839 to 1853, but were almost exclusively reserved for use in Ceylon.
The design of quarter farthings followed that of half farthings, in having as their reverse type, their value in two lines surmounted by a crown.

 


Third farthings

There were 2880 third farthings to the pound, and third farthings were issued for use in Malta. They were produced in copper in 1844 with the reverse type being Britannia, and in bronze from 1866 to 1885 with the reverse design being the inscription "ONE THIRD FARTHING" in two lines, within a wreath, and surmounted by a crown.
Incredibly, third farthings continued into the twentieth century, being issued for Edward VII in 1902, and for George V in 1913, with the same reverse of their value in two lines.

Charles II 1660-1685
Stunning 1670's farthing
Stunning 1672 Charles 1st copper halfpenny - best I have ever seen
Stunning condition 1674 Charles II milled copper farthing
Charles II copper farthing
Charles II copper penny
1670 Ipswich copper farthing
Charles II copper farthing
Charles II copper farthing
Charles II copper farthing
James II 1685-1688

Gun metal copper shilling coin of James II 1690

 

Great find - copper shilling - Aug 1689 James II Irish 'gun metal' emergency coinage

Obv 1 - JACOBVS II DEI GRATIA - Rev 1

Great find, mint condition copper shilling - June 1690 James II Irish 'gun metal' emergency coinage

Obv 1 - JACOBVS II DEI GRATIA - Rev 1

William and Mary 1689-1694, 1694; William as William III to 1702
William III 1696 copper penny
William and Mary copper penny
William III 1699
1696 William III half pence
Rare find 1697 William and Mary copper penny
1688 William & Mary halfpence
1688 William & Mary penny
1700 AD William III copper halfpenny
Great condition 1696 William III copper half penny
Stunning 1701 William III copper half penny
1696 William III copper penny
Great condition 1696 William III copper farthing
1700 William III copper half penny in great shape
Stunning condition 1694 William and Mary copper penny
1694 William and Mary copper half penny
1690's William III milled copper half penny
George I 1714-1727 (great-grandson of James I)
George II 1727-1760 (son of George I)
George III 1760-1820 (grandson of George II)
George IV 1820-1830 (son of George III)
William IV 1830-1837 (brother of George IV)

Stunning condition Irish 1760 George III 'Voce Populi' issue copper halfpenny

obv VOCE POPULI

REV HIBERNIA

Scottish George II copper halfpenny
Real nice condition 1740 George II copper halfpenny
Stunning condition 1724 Dump issue George 1st copper halfpenny
George I farthing
George 1st 1705 Penny
1779 George III penny in nice shape
1721 George I copper half penny
1723 London Mint Georgian Irish penny
1724 George I copper dump halfpenny
1729 George II penny
1738 George II half penny in
1735 George II halfpenny in nice condition(c)
1736 George II farthing(c)

Really nice condition 1750 George II copper half penny

 

1754 George II Farthing
1754 George II copper half penny
Superb condition 1754 George II half penny(z)
Typical condition 1753 George II half penny(x)
Nice 1750 George II halfpenny
George III 1771 farthing
1719 George 1st dump farthing in great shape
Mike's cleaned up 1797 George III Cartwheel penny next to Alaskan Geo's 1581 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver threehalfpence.
 
 George III sixpence forgery
Fake George III 1817 shilling(y)
George III 1806
Unusual 18thC love token made from a copper coin
Large lovely condition 1797 Cartwheel penny
1797 George III cartwheel penny
1819 George III Silver Half crown fake(y)
George III 1796 Guinea forgery
1800 George III 1/2 guinea forgery(b)
George III 1770 Penny
Huge 1806 George III penny (r)
1797 George III Cartwheel penny
Huge amazingly detailed 1806 George III penny
1797 huge cartwheel penny over stamped DB(b)
Huge 1797 George III Cartwheel penny in great shape
Huge 1806 George III penny
Very interesting George III looking coin. 1/4 inch thick, is it made from a cartwheel penny ?
George III copper farthing in great shape
George IV 1829
George IV 1822 Halfpenny (r)
George IV 1826
1797 George III Cartwheel two pence
1715 George 1st Halfpenny - dump issue
 
 
George IV 1823 Irish half penny(z)
1822 George IVhalf pence
Stunning condition 1739 George II copper farthing
Really good shape 1799 George 1st penny
1797 George III Cartwheel copper penny
1715 George 1st Halfpenny - dump issue
1723 George II Irish copper halfpenny William Wood issue Rev2 Obv 2
1719 George 1st 'dump issue' copper farthing
1821- 6 George IV copper half penny - never seen one of these
1797 George III Cartwheel penny in great shape
1797 George III cartwheel penny
 
1737 George II copper half penny
 
Victorian to Modern
Really nice 1860 Victorian penny (b)
Victoria 1885 One third farthing (never seen one before)
Victorian commonwealth coin 1877
1906 Edward copper penny with nice patina
Smallest coin ever found here 'Model Eight farthing' 1848 ??? 0.29g, 8.4mm

Curious coin dated 1834 - William IV period - must be a token

'This coin is from the Ionian Islands acquired by Britain in 1809-14 and left to Greece in 1864. You can see the text "IONIKON KRATOS" on the coin and depending on diameter it can be 1 Lepton (15mm), 2 Lepta (22mm), 1 Obol (28mm) or 2 Oboli (34mm).


/Yngve

Victorian coin with German eagle on back ?
WWI 1918 George V farthing love token ? - SM LT

1844 Victorian half farthing (1/8 penny)

Fractional farthings were issued from 1839. Copper half farthings, 1920 to the pound, were used in Britain, and also in many Colonial countries where lower denomination coins were needed.
They were issued from 1839 to 1856, and their reverse design was the inscription "HALF FARTHING" in two lines, with a crown above.

1897 Victorian penny with nice patina
1901 Victorian penny with nice patina
Real nice 1862 Victorian copper penny
Real nice 1862 Victoria copper half penny
1900 Victorian old bust milled copper penny

Never seen one of these Victorian 'model' one pennies, neat find

'They were a suggested design by Joseph Moore and made in either 1844 or 1848 to replace the heavy coinage then in circulation. According to Peck, the inner part was supposed to be in silver to compensate for the small intrinsic copper value but those produced in the greatest numbers had a copper outer ring and an inner part made of approximately 60% zinc / 40% nickel according to Freeman who analysed the metal composition of many coins. They were never adopted '

1865 East India Company 1 Anna India coin
 
Clean 1861 Victorian copper half penny