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Offered here is a certified copper farthing of George III, struck in 1806 at Matthew Boulton\'s Soho Mint in Birmingham and graded About Uncirculated 58 Brown by NGC. Spink reference S-3782.
Note that the coin photographs darker than it appears in hand. There is genuine remaining luster and pleasing color to the surfaces that the camera does not fully capture — this is a better coin than the images suggest, in my humble opinion.
The 1806 farthing is part of one of the most significant episodes in British monetary history. By the late 18th century, the Royal Mint had essentially abandoned copper coinage for decades, leaving a vacuum filled by a flood of lightweight counterfeits that had corroded public trust in small change almost entirely. Matthew Boulton, the Birmingham industrialist who had already transformed British manufacturing, stepped in with a solution: coins struck on steam-powered presses to exacting tolerances, with enough copper in each piece to make counterfeiting uneconomical. The result was some of the finest copper coinage Britain had ever seen.
The 1806 farthing carries the laureate bust of George III on the obverse, with the seated Britannia reverse that had been a fixture of English copper since Charles II introduced her in 1672. The Soho Mint mark is visible beneath Britannia\'s shield, a quiet signature of Boulton\'s industrial achievement. The design is the work of Conrad Heinrich Küchler, the same engraver responsible for the famous Cartwheel coinage of 1797.
The NGC AU58 BN grade reflects a coin that has seen minimal circulation, retaining much of its original character. Ships securely in the NGC slab.
Oh, and we also make coin holders. The Puck grips a coin by its rim, so both faces stay visible and neither is touched. See it in our store.
