Great Britain: Fading Farthing

By an act of government, Britons last week spent their last farthing. When it was first minted back in 1279, a farthing could buy a whole chicken or a pound of beef. Its name dates even earlier, to the days when pennies were marked with a cross so that shoppers could divide them into fourths—or farthings. But its buying power has steadily dwindled, and by 1900 the farthing was already a children's coin —good only for a single sourball or a few winkles (non-U shellfish) at the seaside.

Since the war the bronze farthing, which is slightly larger than a U.S. cent, has vanished from most transactions. When an occasional farthing was featured in a price (e.g., 38. 11¾d.), most shopkeepers and shoppers would say, "Don't bother about the change." Last June, the British Treasury declared that as of January 1, 1961 the farthing would no longer be legal tender.

Even though Britain's banks were ready to take in farthings at four to the penny, only some 500,000 of the 750 million issued since 1860 crossed their counters. Where were all the others? Many are lost or lying forgotten in toy cupboards. Some are on kitchen shelves, since British housewives believe nothing makes a jar of preserved fruit so airtight as jamming a farthing under the spring clip on each top. Others are holding up girls' stockings, a farthing being just the right size to substitute for a missing thingumbob on a garter belt. Millions of others have been laid by as souvenirs. There may yet come a day when British moppets will not know the meaning of the traditional ditty when they sing:

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's, You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's.