British Fractional Farthings or amazingly small denominations for the colonies

WillieBoyd2

Great Britain used to mint fractions of farthings for British colonies to emulate local denominations.

A farthing was 1/4 of a British penny or 1/960 of a British pound

At the time these were minted a British pound was worth around United States $5 making the farthing worth about 1/2 of a cent.

We have here coins worth 1/4 of a US cent and 1/6 of a US cent.
It is amazing that there were things which could bought for such small amounts then.

Here are four fractional farthings:

Great Britain fractional farthing - 1/2 farthing 1844
Queen Victoria facing left
Crown, HALF FARTHING
Copper, 18 mm, 2.4 gm

Great Britain fractional farthing - 1/3 farthing 1868
Queen Victoria facing left
Crown and wreath, ONE THIRD FARTHING
Bronze, 15 mm, 0.9 gm

Great Britain fractional farthing - 1/3 farthing 1902
King Edward VII facing right
Crown and wreath, ONE THIRD FARTHING
Bronze, 15 mm, 0.9 gm

Great Britain fractional farthing - 1/3 farthing 1913
King George V facing left
Crown and wreath, ONE THIRD FARTHING
Bronze, 15 mm, 0.9 gm

Here are all four fractional farthings with a United States dime:

The 1/2 farthings were minted for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to emulate the local duit or (British) India pie.
A pie was 1/12 anna or 1/192 India rupee; a rupee was worth about 48 US cents then.

The 1/3 farthings were minted for Malta to emulate the local grano.

There were also 1/4 farthings for the big spenders.

291fifth

Never overpay the peasantry. It is foundation of the empire.

ksammut

Amazing. Just imagine carrying tons of these, only for it to equal a pound, or a US dollar, even. Of course, things did cost less back then, so money could buy more than it does today.

SaorAlba

The half farthing also had the distinction of being the lowest valued coin issued in the British Isles, albeit in small numbers as even farthings didn't see a lot of circulation. For practical purposes the halfpenny (or bawbee in Scotland) was the most common low value coin in Britain. The farthing itself lost legal tender status in 1956.

Whereas the half farthing had some limited circulation in Britain during the 19th century the 1/4 and 1/3 farthing coins were only used by the colonials.

carabonnair

The quarter farthings are marvelous, and fit nicely with maundy pence.

And remember, there are 1008 farthings to a guinea.

SaorAlba

@carabonnair said:

And remember, there are 1008 farthings to a guinea.

Up until about 20 years ago some of the stodgy English auction houses were still taking bids in guineas. And they still weigh people in "stone" ie multiples of 14lbs. I guess it makes a woman happier to measure her girth in 9 stone instead of 136 lbs.