Editing Half farthing

{{Short description|Former coin of the United Kingdom and other territories}}
{{Infobox coin
| Country             = United Kingdom
| Denomination        = One half [[Farthing (British coin)|farthing]]
| Value               = £0.0005208{{overline|3}}<br />0.125''[[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|d]]''
| Unit                = 
| Mass                = 2.3
| Diameter            = 18.0
| Thickness           = 
| Edge                = Plain
| Composition         = (1828–1856) copper<br/>(1868) bronze
| Years of Minting    = 1828, 1830, 1837, 1839 1842–1844, 1847, 1851–1854, 1856, 1868 ([[Proof coinage|proof]] only)
| Catalog Number      =
| Obverse             = File:1843 Great Britain Half Farthing Obverse.png
| Obverse Design      = Profile of the monarch ([[Queen Victoria|Victoria]] design shown)
| Obverse Designer    = [[William Wyon]]
| Obverse Design Date = 1839
| Reverse             = File:1843 Great Britain Half Farthing Reverse.png
| Reverse Design      = Various ([[St Edward's Crown|Crown]] and [[Tudor rose|rose]]-[[Thistle#Scottish thistle|thistle]]-[[shamrock]] design shown)
| Reverse Designer    = 
| Reverse Design Date = 1842
}}
The '''half farthing''' was a [[Coins of the pound sterling|British coin]] worth {{frac|1|1920}} of a [[Pound (currency)|pound]], {{frac|1|96}} of a [[Shilling (British coin)|shilling]], or {{frac|1|8}} of a [[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|penny]]. The coins were minted in copper for use in [[British Ceylon]] in various years between 1828 and 1856, and as a bronze [[Proof coinage|proof coin]] in 1868. In 1842, they were also declared legal tender in the United Kingdom. Half farthings were demonetised along with all other British copper coins on 31 December 1869.

==History==
The [[Royal Mint]] first produced half farthings in 1828 for use in [[British Ceylon]],<ref name="mint">{{cite web |url=https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/journal/curators-corner/fractional-farthings/ |title=Fractional Farthings|publisher=Royal Mint Museum|access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref> using dies by [[William Wyon]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=397}}</ref> The [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the coin bore a left-facing portrait of [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]], with the legend {{small|GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA}} and the date, while the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]] showed a seated [[Britannia]] with shield, facing right and holding a trident, with the inscription {{small|BRITANNIAR: REX FID: DEF:}}.{{efn|In full, ''Georgius IV Dei Gratia Britanniarum Rex Fidei Defensor'' (George IV, [[By the Grace of God]], King of the Britains, [[Defender of the Faith]]) }} The coins were made of [[copper]], weighed 2.4 grammes, and had a diameter of 18 millimetres.<ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=394-398}}</ref> The mint produced a second issue of George IV half farthings in 1830.<ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=398}}</ref>

The mint produced one issue of half farthings during the reign of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] in 1837. The obverse bore a right-facing portrait of William IV by Wyon with the legend {{small|GULIELMUS IIII DEI GRATIA}}{{efn|In full, ''Gulielmus IV Dei Gratia Britanniarum Rex Fidei Defensor'' (William IV, By the Grace of God, King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith)}} and the date. The coins used the same reverse dies as the issues of George IV,<ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=402}}</ref> and were struck with the same size and weight standards.<ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=400}}</ref>

Wyon redesigned the half farthing for [[Queen Victoria]]'s first issue in 1839. The obverse used the same dies as Wyon's [[Royal Maundy#Maundy coinage|Maundy fourpence]], bearing a left-facing portrait of Queen Victoria and the legend {{small|VICTORIA D: G: BRITANNIAR: REGINA F: D:}}.{{efn|In full, ''Victoria Dei Gratia Britanniarum Regina Fidei Defensor'' (Victoria, By the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith)}}<ref name="Peck413">{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=413}}</ref> The mint completely redesigned the reverse to avoid any resemblance between half farthings and the [[Fourpence (British coin)|fourpence]] coins introduced in 1836 and issued for Ceylon in 1839.<ref name="Peck413"/> The new reverse featured a [[St Edward's Crown|royal crown]] above the words {{small|HALF FARTHING}} and the date. Below the date, the coins featured a [[Tudor rose|heraldic rose]] with three leaves on either side.<ref name="Peck414">{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=414}}</ref> This design was extremely similar with the [[quarter farthing]], which had been first minted the same year. The mint produced additional issues in 1842, 1843, 1844, 1847, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, and 1856,<ref name="Peck414"/> all to the same size and weight standards as the issues of George IV and William IV,<ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=403}}</ref> but with the rose emblem changed to a joint rose, [[Thistle#Scottish thistle|thistle]], and [[shamrock]].<ref name="Peck413"/> The mint produced [[Proof coinage|proof]] half farthings in bronze and copper-nickel in 1868, but no 1868 half farthings were issued for circulation.<ref name="Peck414"/>

Half farthings were made legal tender in the [[United Kingdom]] on 13 June 1842.<ref name="Peck413"/> Several letters to the editor in ''[[The Times]]'' criticised the proclamation.<ref name="Peck413"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Peck|1960|p=617}}</ref> All British copper coins, including half farthings, were demonetised and taken out of circulation on 31 December 1869.<ref name="mint"/><ref name="Peck413"/>

== Notes ==
{{notes}}

==References==
{{Portal|Money|Numismatics|United Kingdom}}
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |title=English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum: 1558-1958 |last=Peck |first=C. Wilson |year=1960 |publisher=Trustees of the British Museum |location=London}}

{{British coinage}}

[[Category:1842 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1869 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1828 establishments in Ceylon]]
[[Category:Coins of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Coins of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Pre-decimalisation coins of the United Kingdom]]