James I Lennox Medieval Hammered Armstrong Farthing 1613 - 1622 Very Rare Coin
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:9900651 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom |
| Certification: Uncertified |
Armstrong’s Irish farthings were ‘in the style of the earlier English royal farthings’ of James I (Harrington & Lennox patent farthings) and Charles I (Maltravers & Richmond patent farthings) but they were heavier and made from better produced dies. In short, they were of much better quality and much more likely to be accepted by the people than the previous flimsy attempts at introducing small denomination coins into circulation.What makes this (Armstrong) coin spe...cial is that it was ‘issued for use in Ireland’ whereas the earlier James I and Charles I farthings (1613-1622) were explicitly designated as ‘the only English coin not authorised for circulation in Ireland’. This policy led to a chronic shortage of small change in Ireland and a profusion of over 800 different types of ‘unofficial farthings’ which mostly comprises mostly ‘under-weight’ pennies and some higher denominations. They are known ‘farthings’ because they were usually roughly the same size and weight as a ‘regal’ copper farthing.The Armstrong farthing is almost identical in design with the Harrington farthings previously described and from the occurrence of a capital R, on the jewelled band of the crown, on the obverse, it would appear that the dies from which it was struck were the work of the famous engraver, Thomas Rawlins.It is thought that these copper coins might have also circulated in the American Colonies, since one 1681 Irish halfpenny was found in the Philadelphia highway hoard. Rare Medieval Coin!
