Three Farthings

Amongst the items which metal detectorist Norman found on the old Recreation Field there are hundreds of coins. Most are 19^th or 20^th century and would like familiar to those who remember our pre decimal coinage. You have to be a bit older to remember farthings for they ceased to be legal tender back in 1960. For those not familiar with the old money if you had 960 farthings, which in size and colour looked much like a present day 1p coin then you’d have had one pound. So roughly speaking an old farthing was worth a tenth of a present day penny. Norman found quite a few farthings but three of them do date from a much older era and it is these we look at today.

Rose farthings found on ‘the rec’ in Market Lavington

These little coins are smaller than present day pennies. They date, we think, from the reign of Charles II which was between 1660 and 1685. These farthings are actually diminutive pieces of metal and are often called rose farthings because of the rose pattern in the centre.

They are not in particularly good condition but they do indicate human activity on that field 300 years, or more, ago.

 

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Tags: 17th century, coinage, metal detecting, rose farthing