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A farthing (derived from the Anglo-Saxon ''feorthing'', a ''fourthling'' or ''fourth part'')〔Spink Numismatic Circular, March 1983, Volume XCI, No. 2, p.39〕 was a coin of the Kingdom of England worth one quarter of a penny, of a pound sterling. Such coins were first minted in England in silver in the 13th century, and continued to be used until the Kingdom of England was merged into the new Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Early farthings were silver, but surviving examples are rare. The first copper farthings were issued during the reign of King James I, who gave a licence for minting them to John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton. Licences were subsequently given out until after the Commonwealth, when the Royal Mint resumed production in 1672. In the late 17th century the English farthing was also minted in tin. For later farthings, minted in the 18th century and for use in Scotland as well as in England and Wales, and in the 19th and 20th centuries for use in Great Britain and Ireland, see Farthing (British coin). ==Early farthings== Little is known of the medieval silver farthing, for few remain. As the smallest denomination, it was rarely hoardedsilver farthings have never been found in large hoards〔P Withers & BR Withers, 'Farthings and Halfpennies: Edward I and II', Galata, 2001, p. 8〕and as it contained a quarter-penny's worth of silver it was also extremely small, and therefore easily lost. Besides, farthings were not produced in anything like the quantities of the penny and halfpenny because, although they were useful to ordinary people, they were not so much used by the wealthy and powerful; and because, for the moneyers, they yielded the least profit of any denomination. Furthermore, the coins are so small that few metal detectors can find them. Consequently they are rare today. Until the 13th century, requirements for small change were often met by "cut coinage" i.e., pennies cut into halves or quarters, usually along the cross which formed a prominent part of the reverse of the coin. It was long considered that the first silver farthings were produced in the reign of King Edward I (1272–1307). However in recent years five examples have been discovered dating from the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). All are in the short-cross style of that period, produced between 1216 and 1247, and are similar in design to the pennies, but only a quarter the size. Due to the lack of known examples and documentary evidence, these coins are thought to be trials rather than circulating coins. The production of farthings was authorised by the Patent Rolls of 1222, but actual examples have only recently been discovered. The obverse shows a bust of the king holding a sceptre, with the inscription HENRICUS REX, while the reverse shows a small cross with three pellets in each quarter with the moneyer's inscription TERRI (or ILGER or (?)ADAM) ON LUNDTerry (or Ilger or Adam) of Londononly two examples of Terri's and Ilger's work have been discovered, and the identification of Adam is uncertain because only part of his coin has survived. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Farthing (English coin)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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