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The English farthing (derived from the Anglo-Saxon feorthing, a fourthling or fourth part)[1] was a coin of the Kingdom of England worth 1⁄4 of a penny, 1⁄960 of a pound sterling. Until the 13th century, farthings were pieces of pennies that had been cut into quarters to make change. The first English farthing coins were minted in the 13th century, and continued to be struck until the early 18th century, when England merged into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.
Early farthings were silver. The first copper farthings were issued during the reign of James I, who gave a licence for minting them to John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton. Licences were subsequently given out until after the Commonwealth, when the Royal Mint resumed production in 1672. In the late 17th century farthings was also minted in tin.
- ^ Spink Numismatic Circular, March 1983, Volume XCI, No. 2, p. 39