The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-30 00:00:00

FARTHING COINAGES.

The present re-issue, or fresh coinage of new far-
thing pieces from the Mint, affords a favourable op-
portunity for reverting to the foregone history of this
minute money-piece, in its application to our trade
and exchanges.
In all well-regulated Governments (observes Rud-
ing, the excellent coin-annalist) it is found to be as
requisite that there should be money of small value
for the use of the market and the poorer sort of sub •
jects, as of the larger species for the other purposes of
trade and commutation ; and what the value of the
smallest piece should be is pointed out by the propor-
tion the price of provisions bears to that of labour, and
to the abilities of the lower class to purchase them.
FARTHINGS Or GRAINS.—A farthing, or the
fourth part of a penny, is that of the least value we
ever had in England, and began to be coined about
the year 1270, under Edward the First, of standard
silver, and continued to be minted in this manner for
near 300 years.
At its first introduction the farthing weighed about
5-1 grains troy, and on account of its lightness, there-
fore, was inconvenient in use, and liable to be lost,
which was the reason of the frequent complaints of
their scarcity and of the petitions for new coinages of
them ; and also a principal cause of the base black
coins of 'foreign countries obtaining a currency

among us.
ADOPTION OF TIIE COPPER FARTHING.—It was
finally found that the farthing could be no longer
minted of good silver, being lost almost as fast as
coined ; no other method, therefore, remained of
striking them but of base silver or pure copper, and
the Legislature not having recourse to either, and
they being much wanted for many purposes, shop-
keepers and tradesmen made farthings for themselves,
which, although it was a notorious abuse of the Royal
prerogative, was, however, winked at. The coining of
these farthings in such quantities, and for Go long a
time, is, we believe, the only instance to be found of
this sort in any State, and appears a strange thing to
foreigners.
Great disorders having arisen in Queen Elizabeth's
time from grocers, vintners, chandlers, alehouse-
keepers, and all sorts of tradesmen making their own
farthings out of lead, tin, latten, and even leather,
proposals were made to the Queen, to remedy these
matters, for a coinage of copper pledges for farthings,
but the proclamation was never published, and the
coinage never took place.
About the time of Jame 3 1. the city of Bristol
struck a copper farthing by authority, and this became
not only current in the city, but in the country for ten
miles round, to the great benefit of these places.
Worcester and Oxford also struck copper farthings
at this time. In London, we are informed by Sir
Robert Cotton (Posthum. 12mo edit., 1679), that
there were no less than 3,000 persons who mane their
own farthings.
FARTHINGS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I.—There
_ _ _

had been several proposals and schemes made, for
coining farthings by the State upon the coming of
King James to the Crown; nay, even three years
before the death of Queen Elizabeth, she was again
pressed upon this head, but• to no purpose, as she de-
clared she would never consent to a currency of
copper money.
LORD HARRINGTON'S PATENTSHIP.— At length,
Lord Harrington, after a variety of proposals had been
debated on by the Privy Council, obtained the patent
to coin, and he entered into covenant with the King
for that purpose. His Majesty was informed that the
grant was worth 60,000/., showing that if 100,000
lbs. weight of copper was coined, it would be
worth 90,4001., and, deducting 24,4501. for copper
and charges, there would remain 65,000/. profit.
King James, therefore, allowed Lord Harrington
25,0001., as it should be raised by the issue of these
tokens, and the surplus, if any, was to go to the
King. The coinage of farthings by private persons
was thus thrown out of the market, and the new far-
thing coins were ushered in by the King's proclama-
tion of May 19, 1612.
Lord Harrington died FebrUary 27, 1614 (Sir Jul.
Cresar's MS.), and his son, the second Lord Har-
rington, a few months after him, and we cannot
learn into whose hands the patent came afterwards.
King Charles the First, soon after his accession to the
throne, published a proclamation, May 30, 1625, con-
tinuing their currency, and another, June 20, 1634,
enforcing the same.
THE FARTHING PANIC.—But the Government
proclamation of King James threw the poorer people
into great distress, and acted with a far more grinding
effect than the present infliction and exaction caused
by the light sovereigns. The city of London and
the counties of Kent, Essex, Suffblk, and Norfolk,
were so loaded with them, that there was scarce any
gold or silver left, and on account of the cheating
measures which the Government had recourse to, all
the poorer people who lived by selling fruits, herbs,
fish, and other such commodities, are mentioned by
the histories of the time as being left in a shamefully
cruel and destitute condition. it is conceived that at
this period 100,0001. of copper farthings, of the coin-
age of private persons, dispersed through the king-
dom, was utterly lost.
TOWN AND TRADESMEN'S FARTHINGS, 1648-72.
Owing to the great quantity of Royal farthings
uttered by the patentees, the number of counterfeits
which was also mixed with them, and the patentees
refusing to re-change them, at last put an entire stop
to the Government currency. The consequence was
that private tradesmen, corporate towns, villages, and
boroughs immediately began to re-assume the re-
coinage of their own farthing pieces. Bristol and ,
Oxford again led the van • Norwich and Yarmouth
followed, and soon the Whole hundreds of towns,
boroughs, and cities in the kingdom consentaneously
did the same. Of private individuals alone, there
are now extant farthings with the names of 30,000
different persons who coined them ; and of the leading
towns upwards of 13,000. _

QUAINTNESS OF DEVICE.—Some of these farthings
had the strangest devices on them imaginable, just
according to the whim, whit, or fancy of the di-
versified coiner. Two poetical ones ran thus :

Altho'ugh but brass,
You let me pass.
And another, equally short and antithetical, waa—
Welegme you be
To trade with me.

FARTHINGS OF THE COMMONWEALTH.--During the
Commonwealth and King Charles time, a go-
vernment coinage of farthings again took place, and of
course- threw the town and tradesmen's out of- use.
Most of those struck during the Commonwealth de-
clared the purport of their intended currency to be to
facilitate small commutations, or to help the poor ; and
the legend of the generality was " THE FARTHING
TOKENS FOR THE • RELIEF OF THE PORE, ENGLAND'S
FARDING—FOR NECESSARY CHANGE."

TIN FARTnrNos.—During the reign of James 11.,
and William and Mary, tin farthings were greatly in
vogue, but copper again came into use during the
latter part of the last reign, and Mr. Corbet obtained
a patent, which was shortly after transferred to Sir
John Herne for that purpose. By this patent 700
tons were to be coined in seven years ; government
was to be paid 1,0001. per annum, and the profit
remaining to the patentee in nine years was, we
believe, little short of 18,1001.
FARTHINGS OF GEORGE THE FIRST, 1717.—After
the troubles, which disturbed the beginning of the
reign of George the First, were blown over, or in the
year 1717, the subject of the copper money was again
taken into consideration, and they were again coined
at the Tower. They were lighter than those of King
William's, they having 28 pence to one lb. avoirdu-
poise, instead of 21 pence. The bars or fillets were
delivered into the mint at 18 pence per lb., and there
appears to have been coined to the amount of 46,0001.
sterling, or about 213} tons.
CROWN PROFITS FROM FARTHINGS. From an
account of the copper moneys coined between Nov.
20, 1729, and Dec. 23, 1753, it appears from the
particular rolls made up for, the auditors, and sworn
before the Barons of the Exchequer, that nearly 800
tons of copper have been coined during that period in
halfpence and farthings, bringing in a clear profit to
the crown of 17,4351. 17s. 6d.

[ADVERTISEMENT. ]_Our readers' attention is di-
rected to the following communication (translated from
the German), addressed to Messrs. lowlands' Agent at
Cologne :—" 13, Streitz-euggasse, Cologne, May 2:3,
1841.—T0 Th. S. Ditties.—Sir,---I have much pleasure
in informing you of the extraordinary effects of Row-
land's Macassar Oil :" for above nine years I had not a
particle of hair on my head, when I was casually recom-
mended to give this celebrated Oil a trial. I accordingly
purchased t”to bottles at your establishment, and strictly
followed the •printed directions : in the course of two
months my head was covered with fine short hair, which
Thad cut off and continued to peesevere in the,
onseof
the Oil. The- result is, that after five modnotlfish
air as
perse-
verance, I can now boast of as good a
head
respect,
any Mull in this city. In justice to the inle-aen tpOlreas
slumreakine
this, clinowledgment, and shall feel great
satisfying any inctuiry.—.l u ith
At.U.St BADER, Bth Artiller ."—" Ron-land's
A from falling off, or turning
Oil" prevents hair _
grey ; changes grey hair to
and makes it beautifully softits original. colour frees it
from scurf and clauelrift and
and surly...4skm, ssjowlaid 5 Dissessar