1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue (1799)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1799 |
| Denomination | 1 Farthing |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | 1869 |
| Composition | Copper |
| Weight | 6.300g |
| Diameter | 23.5mm |
| Thickness | 2.00mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Engrailed |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Obv. artist | Conrad Heinrich Küchler |
| Rev. artist | Conrad Heinrich Küchler |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Laureate and draped bust of King George III right, legend around, date below.
Seated figure of Britannia facing left, trident in left hand, shield with Union flag resting on left, olive branch in raised right hand, legend above, denomination below.
1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue market value
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Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VF | £8.60 🔒 | £8.60 (1) | – | £8.60 – £8.60 | 0 | 1 | 13-03-2024 | |
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About the 1799 1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue
The 1799 1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue is a circulating 1 farthing coin, struck in copper. It weighs 6.3g and measures 23.5mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia facing left, trident in left hand, shield with Union flag resting on left, olive branch in raised right hand, legend above, denomination below.
It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1869), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1799 1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue worth?
The 1799 1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue has a price in one grade on MyCoinage so far: £8.60 in VF, the median of its verified sales.
How many 1799 farthings were made?
Coin Hunter gives 4,225,428. No Royal Mint figure was found, and CoinVarieties lists the recorded mintage as unknown. The 1806 Soho farthing that followed is given 4,833,768 by Coin Hunter.
Why does the 1799 farthing say 1 FARTHING?
It was the first English or British coin to carry the name of its denomination, according to Wikipedia citing Lobel and Tony Clayton. It was also the first British coin with the date on the same side as the monarch's head.
Who made the 1799 farthing?
Matthew Boulton struck it at his Soho Mint in Birmingham under a licence of 1799. It was designed by Conrad Heinrich Küchler, the German engraver who was Boulton's sole designer and die-cutter and also designed the 1797 cartwheel penny.
Is the 1799 farthing legal tender?
No. Tony Clayton records that copper farthings were demonetised on 31 December 1869, although the Mint went on exchanging them until 30 July 1873, after bronze farthings had replaced them.
How do I identify the 1799 1 Farthing - George III 3rd issue?
Check the weight 6.3g and diameter 23.5mm and the metal (copper) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
Royal Mint copper ended in 1775, and by the 1790s most copper in circulation was counterfeit. In 1797 Matthew Boulton won a contract to strike pennies and twopences at his steam-powered Soho Mint near Birmingham, and in 1799, Wikipedia records, he was licensed to make halfpennies and farthings too. By then copper had risen in price: Wikipedia notes that a pound of copper made 16 pence of coin in 1797 but 18 pence in 1799, so the new coins were lighter and of conventional style, without the cartwheel's broad rim.
These were the first farthings struck by steam power and the first official farthings since 1775. Coin Hunter gives a mintage of 4,225,428, all dated 1799.
The obverse shows a laureate and draped bust of George III facing right, with GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX and the date 1799 below. The reverse has Britannia seated left on a rock with olive branch, trident and union shield, a ship in the distance, BRITANNIA above and 1 FARTHING in the exergue. Wikipedia and Tony Clayton note that this was the first British coin to show its denomination, and Wikipedia adds that it was the first with the date on the monarch's side.
Both sides are the work of Conrad Heinrich Küchler, Boulton's German engraver. The Royal Mint Museum records an engrailed edge, a grained band around the middle, and the two sides set upside down to each other. Its four examples weigh 5.74 g to 6.35 g.
Varieties and errors
Proofs were struck alongside the currency coins in copper, gilt copper and bronzed copper. Spink catalogues a gilt proof as late Soho, with a raised dot on the truncation and a centrally engrailed edge. These have their own pages: the gilt proof and the bronzed proof.
Collecting notes
Examine the edge for the central grained band, and weigh the coin: the Royal Mint Museum's examples run from 5.74 g to 6.35 g, and Wikipedia gives 5.8 to 6.6 g and 23 to 24 mm for the issue.
Tony Clayton records that copper farthings were demonetised on 31 December 1869 and could be exchanged until 30 July 1873. Boulton's next farthing, with a smaller bust and no denomination, is dated 1806.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- History of the British farthing, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- History of the British penny (1714 to 1901), Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Seaby 3779: Goldberg sale 31, lot 2503, proof farthing 1799, Wildwinds (catalogue text courtesy of Goldberg Auctioneers) (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Farthings, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- 1799 Coin Values, George III, Coin Hunter (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III farthings, 1799 (RMM 1125 to 1128), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Coin, farthing, 1799 (TWCMS : M1286), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III, Pattern Farthing, 1799, by C H Küchler, late Soho, gilt copper (auction 25124, lot 238A), Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Conrad Heinrich Küchler, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Collection of Soho Coinage, including Farthing 1799 (auction 25124, lot 237), Spink (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1799 farthing, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
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