Great Britain 1896 farthing
This specimen was part of lot 72149 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, October 2019), where it sold for $85. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Penny and Farthing Pair (2 Pieces), 1896. London Mint. Victoria. Both PCGS MS-64 Red Brown Gold Shield Certified. 1) Penny. 2) Farthing. An immensely pleasing pair of late Victorian issues, both offering intense reddish-brown brilliance and radiance. From the Regent Crest Collection." This farthing was struck 1893-1901 in large numbers. The 1896 is common tho some of the minor varieties are rare. In 1897, the mint began issuing farthings already blackened to prevent thimbleriggers from passing them off as half sovereigns.
Recorded mintage: 3,669,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 2.86 g, bronze.
Catalog reference: S-3963; KM-788.1.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- Freeman, Michael J., The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain, Rev. Ed., London: Spink & Son, 2006.
- Peck, C. Wilson, English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum, 1558-1958, 2nd Ed., London: Oxford University Press, 1970.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The October 2019 Collector's Choice Sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.
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