Darkened Farthings
A farthing is worth 1⁄480 of a half sovereign; however, the two coins were similar in size, with the farthing having a diameter of 20 mm, only 0.5 mm wider than the half sovereign, moreover the designs of the coins were the same. This meant that when people claimed newly minted farthings were being mistaken for half sovereigns something had to be done. The response was to alter the appearance of the farthing by chemically turning them black, this was done between 1897 and 1917. An acid gas, sodium thiosulphate was used to react with the surface of the farthings after they had been struck, permanently altering their appearance and making it less likely to mistake them for half sovereigns.
Read more about this topic: Farthing (British Coin)
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