1722 British Farthing

The recent marriage in the royal family got me thinking of my oldest British coin. It features King George I on the obverse and Britannia on the reverse. It is a farthing (¼ of a penny) so it wasn’t worth much at the time. The monetary system was very strange at the time because 100 pennies did not equal a pound. There were 2 farthings for a half penny, 2 half pennies for a penny, 12 pennies in a shilling, and 20 shillings in a pound. Consequently, there would be 960 farthings in a pound. A Pound back then had the value of an actual pound of sterling silver, but now silver is worth £127.23 ($170.96) per pound.

I bought this on eBay which was a mistake. I overpaid for it just because I thought any coin that is 296 years old has to be worth over $20, and I could have got it at a coin shop for $10. Also, it could have been a fake coin like many on ebay. On the positive side, it is my oldest coin and one of my favorites to show to other people. I am not worried about it getting scratched in my pocket because if it was in my pocket because it’s condition can't get much worse. If it was in perfect condition it would be worth about $600.