Quarter farthing

The British quarter farthing (+1/16d) coin was a unit of currency equalling one sixteenth of a pre-decimal penny (+1/3,840 of a pound sterling). It was produced for circulation in Ceylon in various years between 1839 and 1853, with proof coins being produced in 1868. It is the smallest denomination of pound sterling coin ever minted. The coin is considered to be part of British coinage because it has no indication of what country it was minted for, being made in the same style as the contemporary half-farthing which was legal tender in Britain between 1842 and 1869.[1]

One quarter farthing
United Kingdom
Value1/3840 pound sterling
Mass1.2 g
Diameter13.5 mm
EdgePlain
Composition(1839–1853) copper
(1868) bronze
Years of minting1839–1853, 1868
Obverse
DesignQueen Victoria
DesignerWilliam Wyon
Design date1839
Reverse
DesignCrown and Rose
Design date1839

Coins were minted in 1839, 1851, 1852, 1853, and the proof issue of 1868. The 1839–53 coins were made of copper, weighed 1.2 grams (0.039 troy ounces or about 1/24 of an ounce avoirdupois) and had a diameter of 13.5 millimetres (0.53 in). So, £1 worth of quarter farthings weighed 10 avoirdupois pounds (4.5 kg). The 1868 coins were made of bronze or cupro-nickel, but weighed the same and had the same diameter.

The obverse bears the left-facing portrait of Queen Victoria, with the inscription VICTORIA D G BRITANNIAE REGINA F D, while the reverse bears a crown above the words QUARTER FARTHING with a rose with three leaves at the bottom of the coin.

A quarter-farthing's conversion to current sterling denominations would place it at slightly more than one fortieth of a decimal penny. Allowing for inflation however, the quarter farthing would have a purchasing power of between 3p and 4p (£0.03 to £0.04) expressed in 2017 values.

References
  1. "Fractional Farthings". Royal Mint Museum. 2013.
  • British Coins – information about British coins (from 1656 to 1952)
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